4 RIVERFRONT TIMES SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 riverfronttimes.com
riverfronttimes.com SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 RIVERFRONT TIMES 5
The Riverfront Times is published weekly by Euclid Media Group | Verified Audit Member
Cover Photo by THEO WELLING
Executive Assistant
Staff Writers Ryan Krull, Monica Obradovic, Benjamin Simon Editor Evie Hemphill Thomas K. Chimchards, Joseph Hess, Reuben Hemmer, Dmitri Jackson, Famous Mortimer, Andy Paulissen, Olivia Poolos, Mabel Suen, Graham Toker, Theo Welling Ray Hartmann, Dan Savage Kasey Noss, Sarah Lovett
Editor
Editor
General information: 314-754-5966
ART Sult Haimanti Germain Bieri Smit
EUCLID Fenske Volhein Emily Tintera, Cassandra Yardeni Mackenzie NATIONALwww.euclidmediagroup.comDeanADVERTISING
Graphic Designer Aspen
Creative Director
EDITORIAL Jessica Rogen at Large Daniel Hill Content Jaime Lees Editor Cheryl Baehr
of Marketing & Events Christina Kimerle Marketing Coordinator Sydney Schaefer BUSINESS Regional Operations Director Emily Fear CIRCULATION Circulation Manager Kevin G. Powers
Director
VMG Advertising 1-888-278-9866, SUBSCRIPTIONSvmgadvertising.com
Food
Contributors
Editor in Chief
Digital
& PRODUCTION Art Director Evan
ADVERTISING Associate Publisher Colin Bell Account Manager Jennifer Samuel Directors of Business Development Rachel Hoppman, Chelsea MARKETINGNazaruk
MEDIA GROUP Chief Executive Officer Andrew Zelman Chief Operating Officers Chris Keating, Michael Wagner Executive Editor Sarah
Production Manager Sean
Riverfront Times is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. Additional copies of the current issue may be purchased for $1.00 plus postage, payable in advance at the Riverfront Times office. Riverfront Times may be distributed only by Riverfront Times authorized distributors. No person may, without prior written permission of Riverfront Times , take more than one copy of each Riverfront Times weekly issue. The entire contents of Riverfront Times are copyright 2022 by Riverfront Times, LLC. No portion may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means, including electronic retrieval systems, without the expressed written permission of the Publisher, Riverfront Times PO Box 179456, St. Louis, Mo, 63117. Please call the Riverfront Times office for back-issue information, 314-754-5966. INSIDE Hartmann 7 News 8 Missouriland 12 Feature 14 Calendar 22 Cafe 25 Short Orders 29 St. Louis Standards 32 Reeferfront Times 36 Film 37 Culture 38 Music 41 Out Every Night 42 Savage Love 45 COVER Flying the Sign They work at an intersection in the shadow of Wash U, hustling for a place to lay their heads. These are their stories
Founded by Ray Hartmann in 1977
Columnists
Early
Send address changes to Riverfront Times, 5257 Shaw Avenue, St. Louis, MO, 63110. Domestic subscriptions may be purchased for $78/6 months (MO add $4.74 sales tax) and $156/year (MO add $9.48 sales tax) for first class. Allow 6-10 days for standard delivery. www.riverfronttimes.com
Copy
Managing Editor
MULTIMEDIA
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Publisher Chris Keating Rosalind
Editorial Interns
VP of Digital Services Stacy
Audience Development Manager Jenna Jones VP of Marketing
Riverfront Times PO Box 179456, St. Louis, MO, www.riverfronttimes.com63117
6 RIVERFRONT TIMES SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 riverfronttimes.com
The Federation of Tax Adminis trators keeps score on such mat ters. Its 2021 data is both current and compelling in ranking the 50 states in two categories: 1) total state taxes per capita; and 2) total state taxes as a percentage of per sonalMissouriincome.ranked 46th among the states in both columns. Its per-capita taxes of $2,449 were 36 percent below the national average. Its state-tax burden con sumed just 4.7 percent of personal
These seem like riches to most of us. But most of us don’t spend $48.4 billion annually — just un der 10 times the amount of that gargantuan surplus. That’s the size of Missouri’s budget for fiscal
But that’s not the shallow part. The purported reason for the tax cut is that Missouri just came into some money. It’s holding a record surplus of nearly $4.9 billion, nearly double the previous record set just a year ago, according to state budget officials.
That speaks to the essential problem with Missouri’s reckless approach to taxation. There’s no plan. Every proposal gets viewed in a vacuum, not only failing to consider how to replace lost rev enues from lowered taxes, but without any context as measured by the practices of the other 49 states.It’sprecisely the opposite of a comprehensive strategy. It’s the same fiscal disarray that sees the most central state in the nation forgoing tens of millions in rev enue with its low gasoline taxes — funds that could be garnered from cars and trucks passing through from other states. And there’s the ultimate stupidity of a tiny tobacco tax that could be doubled — bringing in $70 mil lion or more in annual revenues — and yet still remain lowest in theThenation.state’s problem has nothing to do with conservative politics and everything to do with an antitax, anti-government orthodoxy that substitutes unapologetic emotion for any form of reason. So, it should be quite the spectacle this week when Parson turns the key to his clown car.
State policy on raising revenues isn’t conservative. It’s irrational
Parson nor the Repub lican Party recognizes a need for Missouri to develop a strategy on the revenue side. But it’s not rocket science. There are 49 other states in the nation and, as diverse as they are politically, they share much in common.
“It’s easy to see why the ShowMe State gets a ‘mixed’ tax rating,” Kiplinger writes. “For the three major taxes – income, sales and property taxes – state and local lev ies are neither very high nor very low. Missouri recently lowered its top income tax rate from 5.9% to 5.4%. But the state’s income tax bite is still average because the top rate kicks in quickly.”
M
HARTMANN
All states draw revenue through taxation. Most acquire it through such sources as corporate and personal income, property, tour ism and other sales, and even sin. States often diverge in their ap proach, but all of them need to collect revenues for the purpose of providing services to residents.
year 2023.
When it comes to taxes, this state is lost on a dark highway. n
Ray Hartmann founded the Riverfront Times in 1977. Contact him at rhartmann1952@ gmail.com or catch him at 7 p.m. on Thurs days on Nine PBS and St. Louis in the Know with Ray Hartmann from 9-11 p.m. Monday thru Friday on KTRS (550 AM).
None of their citizens enjoy pay ing taxes. All states have a respon sibility to fund services in educa tion, health care, social services, public safety and so forth.
issouri is like a fam ily in which everyone has agreed that a vacation is sorely needed. All the schedules have been coor dinated. Everyone has arranged to be gone. The packing is done. The car is loaded.
BY RAY HARTMANN
That sounds like a great recipe for success. Just like underfund ing schools and health care and neglecting roads and bridges.
But they forgot to pick a destina tion.When it comes to tax policy for its citizens, Missouri doesn’t know where it’s going. Governor Mike Parson is convening a spe cial session of the General As sembly to start the car this week. That is not to be confused with selecting a direction.
7
One doesn’t react to temporary revenue events with long-term changes in tax policy. That’s not some theory of advanced eco nomics. It’s common sense, the trait for which Parson is most of tenThat’sextolled.why the governor should know better than to haul his bick ering legislators to Jefferson City to wrestle with a piece of the state’s revenue structure. Espe cially since it represents a non-ur gent matter that could easily wait until the regular session begins in less than four months.
The state constitution presum ably limits a governor to call ing an extra session only on “ex traordinary occasions.” This one couldn’t be more ordinary; it’s a repudiation of government, noth ingNeithermore.
Well, that’s simple enough.
Butlove.look a little deeper. The 46th-place rankings leave only five states (the rankings include the 50 states and D.C.) in the U.S. “friendlier” than Missouri as to state taxes: Alaska, New Hamp shire, Florida, Texas and South Dakota.Doyou know what all of these states have in common? It’s some thing very tangible to show for their low-tax environments: They collect no state personal income taxes. (New Hampshire does take in a 5 percent tax on dividend and interest income.)
But here’s the problem for Mis souri: We’re the fiscal equivalent of half-pregnant. Because the state has no plan or direction, poor services are all it has to show for its low-tax status.
Don’t believe for a second that cutting the personal-income-tax rate by one half of 1 percent is something Missouri can turn into a commercial. A 4.9 percent rate — which is relatively low — is 4.9 percent too high when compared to the no-income-tax states.
Missouri Just Can’t AboutReasonTaxes
In keeping with that elegant doctrine, Parson has proposed a permanent cut in state personal income taxes from 5.4 percent to 4.9 percent. He’d also raise the standard deduction by $4,000 and $2,000 for married and single tax payers, respectively.
The surplus reflects nothing more than a short-term oppor tunity to the state. Stout as it might seem, it’s not nearly a large enough portion of state spending to merit a change to the perma nent tax structure.
Missouri moved up to 49th place in government employee salaries after three straight years at dead last.Here’s how that was scored at openpayrolls.com: “The average employee salary for the State of Missouri in 2020 was $28,871. This is 56.2 percent lower than the national average for government employees and 52.3 percent lower than other states.”
These states lead with their in come-tax-free status in attracting new residents and companies. It’s a huge selling point, one also available to Nevada, Tennessee, Washington and Wyoming.
Parson is the right man for the job if driving aimlessly is the pre ferred plan. Parson’s philosophy on taxes can be capsulized in two words: too high. It’s a popular po sition, having edged out “too low” and “about right” by roughly 99 percent of respondents in a recent survey of Missouri voters.
riverfronttimes.com SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 RIVERFRONT TIMES 7
Look how badly Missouri has lost the room at austere Kip linger’s “State by State Guide to Taxes on Middle-Class Families.” It doesn’t come close to making the list of “10 Most Tax-Friendly States” for either this group, or a similar one for retirees.
I don’t advocate for the elimi nation of taxes because — liberal that I am — I hold to the draconi an view that a state should pride itself in delivering high-quality education, health care, public safety and all the rest to its citi zens. Missouri does not, which is shameful.Theconsequences stretch far beyond perception. Every day Missouri squeezes its state work force while presumably expecting it to deliver services at the same level or better as the other states. The big news in 2021 was that
tax income, 29 percent below the national average. Those are the kinds of statistics that conserva tives
He adds that every year federal authorities in the region prosecute one or two cases of stolen cars be ing transported across state lines, but that in general the state court has stiffer penalties for these crimes than the federal system. n
On August 19, St. Louis City Counselor Sheena Hamilton is sued a warning to executives at Kia and Hyundai saying that if the companies did not “make satisfac tory progress to mitigate the pub
Many of the Kia Boyz thefts that have made the news in recent weeks are being perpetrated by juveniles, who are less likely than adults to be detained even when apprehended and whose charges aren’t made public if in fact they are charged at all.
That means that the city saw about 462 such crimes overall in that 13-day period.
2 Weeks, 462 Car Thefts, 1 Charge
The RFT reviewed court filings in St. Louis Circuit Court during that timeframe and found only one instance of a person being charged for a crime related to autoBrandontheft.
According to Robert Patrick, public affairs specialist for the U.S. ttorney’s ffice of the astern District of Missouri, federal au thorities in the St. Louis region do prosecute about a carjacking case or two a month, in which cars are taken by force, but Patrick said he had not seen any charges brought for hot-wiring a car.
The relative lack of charges re lated to these crimes is playing out against the rash of Hyundai and Kia thefts plaguing the St. Louis area.Thefts of these two types of cars are fueled by the “Kia Boyz” viral trend. On TikTok and other social media platforms, teens teach each other how to steal Kias and Hyun dais using USB chargers.
This pattern of only a small percentage of auto-theft-related crimes leading to charges held true over a longer period of time as well. Both St. Louis city and county failed to prosecute even a small percentage of the cars being stolen this summer, according to information from court officials and a review of court records.
lic nuisance you have created,” the city would explore legal action against the automakers.
The letter from the City Counsel or’s ffice says that between u gust 1 and August 13 of this year, 356 thefts or attempted thefts of Kias or Hyundais were reported to the St. Louis Metropolitan Po lice Department, a number that “represents nearly 77% of the to tal number of vehicles stolen dur ing the timeframe.”
“If there was a big conspiracy, we might get involved,” Patrick says. “There have been a couple of multi-defendant cases involv ing catalytic converter thefts.”
The RFT reached out to the Di rector of ublic afety’s ffice re questing the total number of auto thefts and attempted auto thefts reported to the St. Louis Metropol itan Police Department in July and ugust. The office did not provide that information by press time.
he vast majority of auto thefts and attempted auto thefts do not lead to charges in either St. Louis city or county.
The RFT reviewed charging documents filed in t. ouis ir cuit Court for July and August and found only 19 instances of individuals being charged with crimes related to auto theft dur
T
NEWS 8
8 RIVERFRONT TIMES SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 riverfronttimes.com
Bass was charged with robbery on August 3 for stealing a car near the 8800 block of North Broadway. However, the crime is alleged to have happened on De cember 6 of last year.
The auto-related crimes going unprosecuted in state court are, for the most part, not being pros ecuted in federal court either.
From August 1 to August 13, approximately 462 cars were reported stolen or attempted sto len in the City of St. Louis.
Chris King, the public infor mation officer for the t. ouis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Of
A Hyundai Sonata sits abandoned a er being crashed into a tree in St. Louis city. | VIA NIC REESE
In St. Louis and St. Louis County, hundreds of car the s are le unsolved
Written by RYAN KRULL
But during that same 13-day period, a review of court records shows only one individual was charged in city courts for a crime related to auto theft.
ing that two-month period.
Of the 19, three individuals were charged with stealing a motor ve hicle, 11 were charged with tam pering with a motor vehicle and five were charged with robbery.
In St. Louis County, 46 charges related to auto theft were brought by prosecutors for the entirety of July and DuringAugust.thatsame two-month period, county police say they received reports of 704 stolen vehicles.Ofthe 46 auto-theft-related charges that county prosecutors brought in July and August, tam pering with a motor vehicle was the most common charge, used 22 times. Stealing a motor vehicle was the second most common, with prosecutors bringing that charge in 17 cases.
fice said that the actual number of people charged with auto theft in the county in July and August is at least a little higher than 46. He says there were some individuals charged with stealing more than $750 whose cases involved al leged auto theft.
The nine larcenies occurred at Ulta stores in Creve Coeur, Affton and Fenton. In every incident more than $750 of merchandise was stolen, making the thefts felonies. Many of the incidents involved groups of three to six individuals working in tandem to pilfer merchandise from the beauty store.
Ira Berkowitz, the Clayton attorney who represents Lux Living, initially responded
Written by RYAN KRULL
“While I’m sure we all appreciate these projects being proposed by Lux Living (since they add residents and densify neighborhoods),” Stritzel wrote, “it’s likely that we also sincerely hope that they get a grip on the issues that are presently plaguing their company before anything is allowed to advance. There’s no excuse to defer maintenance or ignore orders from the city for the safety of nearby residents.” n
After a $2,000 heist from an Ulta outside of Philadelphia, a lieutenant with the Plymouth Township Police Department theorized to the ABC affiliate there
Chris Stritzel, a blogger at CityScene STL, reported that the proposal is linked to the now-infamous St. Louis-based development company Lux Living, which has come under fire for poor living conditions, among other things. Stritzel formerly served as a paid consultant with LuxFilingsLiving.with the Missouri Secretary of State show that the designated agent for the St. Louis Property Holdings is William Richmond, a Dallas-based lawyer. Richmond is the agent for just two other Missouri companies, records show — one also formed in October of 2021. The second company is named Delmar Loop 1. An email used by Sid Chakraverty, one of the co-owners of Lux Living, is listed as the contact for Delmar Loop 1.
St. Louis-Area Ulta Beauty Thefts Part of Nationwide Trend
One woman posted to Facebook saying that she saw teenagers at the Fenton location “who filled up pillow cases like it wasUltaHalloween.”storesseem to be facing issues
of theft nationwide.
Last month in federal court, St. Louis County man Demetrius Owens, 20, was sentenced to a year in federal prison for his part in a theft ring that stole more than $140,000 worth of merchandise from six Ulta stores throughout Missouri, including in St. Louis. The thefts are alleged to have happened between November 2020 and January 2021.
Ulta Beauty stores across St. Louis have seen a rash of the s. | GOOGLE MAPS
Controversial Developer Has Ties to Loop Project
wide brand. Residents claim the building has a faulty elevator, overflowing sinks and leaking ceilings. They said that management fails to respond to maintenance requests in a timely manner and many feel helpless.
Lux Living has a history of poor property maintenance, but keeps expanding
But owners Vic Alston and his brother, Chakraverty, have become a focus of anger from some residents and also city officials. Their previous brand Asprient was the subject of a 2016 RFT cover story that depicted the poor living conditions in the company’s apartments. Since then, residents at various Lux Living locations have complained publicly about what they see as the company’s negligence.Mostrecently in July, the RFT reported issues at the Raphael Apartments, which the brothers lease under their STL City-
to an email from a reporter asking for clarity on what proposal he was being asked about. After that, he did not re spond to two emails, including one asking about Stritzel’s reporting and mentioning Chakraverty’s email address being used for an LLC created by Richmond.
But Lux is still finding ways to expand. In the last two months alone, according to CityScene STL, it has proposed four projects in Missouri, including a 250-unit building in Kansas City. And by claiming it is the developer behind the big new project proposed for the Loop, blogger Stritzel is linking the apartment proposal to a company that’s drawing increasing ire from city officials.
O
that Ultas are being targeted because the stolen fragrance, cologne and other beauty products can be easily resold at a decent price.
That is allegedly the motive behind a string of Ulta larcenies that happened in the St. Louis area last year, for which two men have pleaded guilty and another is awaiting trial.
Ulta Beauty stores across the area are seeing a rash of burglaries
ne particular beauty store is increasingly finding itself the target of thieves, both in St. Louis and nationwide.According to St. Louis County Police Sergeant Tracy Panus, three St. Louis County Ulta Beauty stores were each hit by thieves three times in August alone.
Last August, police released a still from the Fenton Ulta’s security footage of a man dubbed the “Smell Good Bandit.” The Croc-wearing individual filled a tote bag with $3,200 worth of merchandise and walked out of the store. Police say no arrest was ever made.
Unlike the six-figure theft ring, the current spate of Ulta thefts are playing out in plain view during business hours.
A
University City Director of Planning and Development John Wagner told the
riverfronttimes.com SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 RIVERFRONT TIMES 9
Owens pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud for his part in the scheme.
Last month an Ulta shopper posted to Facebook about how she saw a man casually walk out of the Brentwood store with a basket full of cologne he hadn’t paid for. “Workers said hey,” she wrote. “And he continued walking out at a regular ass speed … had zero pep in his step smh.” n
According to federal prosecutors, Ow ens and Jones broke into Ulta stores at night, stealing anywhere from $9,000 to almost $35,000 worth of perfume, men’s cologne and other beauty supplies per larceny. St. Louis-area Ulta locations they allegedly hit included Brentwood, Chester field, Creve Coeur and Fenton. Prosecu tors say the men also committed similar thefts at other Missouri Ulta stores in Co lumbia and Washington.
Finerson was accused of taking videos of the stolen products and selling the items on Facebook marketplace.
In recent years, Lux Living has emerged as one of the largest developers in the St. Louis area, with large apartment complexes such as the 152-unit Chelsea in DeBaliviere Place and the forthcoming 322-unit SoHo in Soulard.
RFT that the city received the proposal, technically a rezoning application, from St. Louis Property Holdings LLC on August 8. The planning commission will likely review it at its Wednesday, September 28, meeting, Wagner says.
new seven-story apartment build ing, with ties to developer Lux Liv ing, could soon tower over the Loop. The development, named the Bond, would bring 300 apartments to 6630 Delmar Boulevard and would include 133 studios, 134 one-bedroom units and 33 two-bedroom units. It would also include up to 20,000 square feet of retail space and over 512 parking spaces.
In June, two women at an Ulta in Little Rock calmly stashed items in tote bags and walked out the door. A video of them later went viral on TikTok. Later that same month, in Chicago, a “theft crew” was ar rested for stealing from the same Ulta twice, making off with $200,000 worth of merchandise between the two thefts. Last week, a Bronx man was charged for stealing $35,000 worth of goods from a Westport, Connecticut, Ulta. Other high-dollar-value thefts were reported over the summer in Tulsa, Knoxville and Kalamazoo.
Written by BENJAMIN SIMON
Leo Finerson, 37, pleaded guilty to concealing a felony. A case is still pending against the third co-defendant, Ryan Jones, 38, on two charges of wire fraud.
Even Elon Musk is weighing in on the controversial cheating claims a er a St. Louis chess tournament
On Sunday, Iranian-born chess grandmaster Alireza Firouzja won the inquefield up taking home the $100,000 grand prize.
The assault case against Antonio Holt, 40, the second man accused of taking part in the beating, is still making its way through St. Louis Circuit Court. n
e man was already serving life in prison for armed robbery
10 RIVERFRONT TIMES SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 riverfronttimes.com
The match in question hap pened on September 4, during the inquefield up one of the lon gest running chess tournaments in the nited tates. t is the fi nal leg of the Grand Chess Tour and features some of the world’s best chess players, as well as a $350,000 total prize fund.
or the past week, chess enthu siasts around the world have been looking in St. Louis’ di rection with raised eyebrows after accusations of cheating rocked a tournament at the Saint Louis Chess Club. Elon Musk has even weighed in on the situation, supporting an idea that anal beads were used to facilitate cheating.
But it’s unclear how Niemann might have cheated.
The inquefield up is named for ex inquefield famed sup porter of libertarian causes and a very rich man. The tournament is a 10-player round robin with the top three winners taking home cash prizes. n
ast week a former St. Louis City Justice Center detainee was sentenced to four years in prison for his role in a brutal jailhouse beating that happened in the detention facility in MarchKevin2021.Moore, 40, was one of two detainees accused of beating a third de-
In an interview posted to the St. Louis Chess Club’s YouTube channel, Niemann said, “I think
Kevin Moore’s booking photo from when he robbed Behrmann’s Tavern. | FILE PHOTO
In the wake of the cheating al legations inquefield up orga nizers began broadcasting the matches on a 15-minute delay and taking additional security measures. Plus, Niemann, de spite arlsen never confirming accusations of cheating, has been banned from chess.com, the larg est chess site in the world, and was uninvited from the Chess. com Global Championship, a $1 million event.
Anal Beads to Cheat?
In a tweet that has since been deleted, Grimes’ ex-husband aug
Otherwrote.theories about how Nie mann may have cheated include that he was tipped off about Carlsen’s surprise opening of 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 g3. Niemann was prepared for the opening and some believe it may have been leaked. Analysis of the game play between Niemann and Carlsen shows both making mis takes, which would seem to in dicate that Niemann did not use computer aid, according to the Guardian
Firouzja, who like Niemann is 19-years-old, seems to have avoid ed any allegations of cheating in his victory.
The following day, Carlsen tweeted that he had withdrawn from the tournament. It was the first time he’d ever pulled out of a competitive chess event. He add ed that he enjoys the Saint Louis Chess Club and looks forward to comingCarlsenback.included a short video of Portuguese soccer coach José Mourinho saying, “If I speak, I am in big trouble” in his tweet.
Many in the chess world inter preted Carlsen’s tweet as the Nor wegian grand master accusing Niemann of cheating.
F
Written by RYAN KRULL
arlsen is a five time grand champion and one of the greatest chess players in the world. He’s been a chess phenom since he was 13 and there is even a documen tary about him, titled Magnus, that found a general audience be yond just chess players. Niemann is also a grandmaster, though ac cording to worldchess.com, Nie mann was the lowest-rated player at the Niemanntournament.hadbeaten Carlsen
[Carlsen] was just so demoralized because he’s losing to an idiot like me. It must be embarrassing for the world champion to lose to me. I feel bad for him.”
L
tainee at the direction of corrections officer Demeria Thomas, 39. Thomas was
“The judge read the impact statement and gave him four years. I believe [Moore] has another felony from it to,” she told the RFT via text message. “The judge said he was sorry for what my son has gone through. I appreciated that.”
The match, like all the matches in the inquefield up was broad cast live.
Written by RYAN KRULL
Hans Niemann, 19, was embroiled in a chess cheating controversy. | VIA SCREENGRAB
American chess grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura created a You Tube video outlining his theory as to why Niemann’s unusual strat egy was, to Nakamura’s mind, evidence he might have cheated. Right now, the video has almost a million views.
before in an online tournament in Miami, where he famously said, “the chess speaks for itself” at his victory interview. He went on to lose two out of the next three games to Carlsen, and ended the event with 0 points.
Vice referenced an idea involv ing a hypothetical player “using vibration-based buttons in a play er’s shoes” to communicate with a chess engine. A chess engine is a computer program that can be used to analyze the configuration of pieces on the chess board and then suggest moves to human players.Thevibrating shoes morphed into the notion that Niemann was communicating using a “prostate massager.” Tesla and Space-X CEO Elon Musk took that as his cue to enter the fray.
sentenced to four years in federal prison in June. Moore’s four-year sentence will run concurrent to an 11 year federal sentence he is serving for the 2019 armed robbery of Behrmann’s Tavern.
So it shocked the chess world then when Niemann beat Carlsen in St. Louis. Vice called it “an up set for the ages.” Carlsen had played 53 classical matches with out a loss (the match where he previously lost to Niemann was a non-classical match) and Carlsen was playing white, which has a statistical advantage over black, since white moves first in chess.
In round three of the cup, Mag nus Carlsen, 31, a chess grandmas ter from Norway, played against Hans Niemann, 19, a chess prod igy originally from San Francisco.
The victim’s identity has not been made public. The aftermath of his assault was the subject of a 2021 RFT cover story.
mented a quote from 19th Cen tury German philosopher Arthur chopenhauer to fit the current controversy.“Talenthits a target no one else can hit, genius hits a target no one can see (cause it’s in ur butt),” Musk
Assailant Sentenced in Brutal Prison Beating
The mother of the man Moore beat in jail said that though she wished the sentences weren’t concurrent, she still felt that justice was served.
Man who stole another man’s identity to escape St. Louis will be stuck here for foreseeable future
According to court documents, Barner grew up in St. Louis but wanted to escape the violent conditions he found himself surrounded by.
DeLeo Barner, 59, pleaded guilty in May to one count of passport fraud for obtaining passports under the identity of another St. Louisan. Though he avoided prison time, the supervised-release portion of Barner’s sentence may be a significant hardship for the man who built a life and a family in Germany.
When Barner spoke in court last week, his voice cracked with emotion when he talked about the toll this has taken on him and his family.
Barner was stationed in Berlin for many years until receiving a medical discharge in 1988.
He joined the military after high school in 1981. A filing from his attorney says he was dismissed from the military in 1984 for “missing a readiness alert.” The misconduct did not lead to a court martial, but Barner was not allowed to re-enlist.
For three decades, he remained in Germany working for security firms there. He built a civilian life as Sanders. At the time of his arrest, Barner had a German girlfriend and eight kids, six of whom still reside in Barner’sBerlin.life under the other man’s identity came to an abrupt halt in June 2018 when the real Joel Sanders applied for health insurance and was told that, as a veteran, he should contact the VeteransAccordingAdministration.tocourt documents, “None of [Barner’s] children bear his real name, and the process of explaining all of this
“I’m still trying to say I’m sorry to my family,” Barner said. “I’ve had to tell my family in Germany the background.”
After spending a few nights in jail await ing trial, Barner was released and found work as a delivery driver. According to his attorney, he has been closely following the terms of his pre-trial supervision.
to his family was excruciating.”
“I have a 13-year-old girl in Germany that needs me,” Barner said in court today, referring to his daughter. He said he also has grandchildren there.
“I want to get this over with so I can get back home,” he said.
Written by RYAN KRULL
By “home” he was clearly referring to Germany, the country where he has spent the vast majority of his adult life. n
“I don’t know if he’ll ever be able to make it back there,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman.
Up until recently, Barner’s whole life was in Germany, including being a father and grandfather to a large family. His return to his family is now in jeopardy.
Barner “arrived back home to a St. Louis that was even worse from the one he had left. Many of the friends he went to school with were dead or in prison.”
Bateman added that whether Barner would be allowed to leave the country while on supervised release would have to be considered by probation authorities in the U.S. Then it would be up to German authorities if he would be allowed back in.
riverfronttimes.com SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 RIVERFRONT TIMES 11
Two of Barner’s friends died from gun vi olence in his first three weeks back home.
Wanting to rejoin the military to get back out of St. Louis, Barner stole the identity of Joel Sanders, another St. Louis man. Details as to how he stole his identity are unclear, but he was able to join the Army pretending to be Sanders and obtain passports in Sanders’ name.
Barner, by then in his early 20s, was devastated.Filingsfrom his attorney state that Barner “arrived back home to a St. Louis that was even worse from the one he had left. Many of the friends he went to school with were dead or in prison.”
St. Louis man who lived in Germany for three decades under a false iden tity was sentenced in federal court September 6 to time served and three years of supervised release.
Double Life Leads to Uncertain Future
A
DeLeo Barner lived in Germany under another man’s identity. | VIA COURT DOCUMENTS
n 12
Braden was arrested for libel and later sued for it, but both cases wereOverdismissed.time,Christian practi tioners moved in and began to influence the town. This was at first met with resistance (Walser built a barbed-wire fence around the town to keep them out), but eventually restrictions were re laxed, and saloons and churches appeared by 1887 and 1889 re spectively. There was a decline in the town’s population throughout the th century and a signifi cant drought led to a mass exo dus of businesses and residents. Currently, the town is dotted by Trump and onfederate flags and little remains of the former “god less paradise.”
12 RIVERFRONT TIMES SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 riverfronttimes.com
Words and photos by REUBEN HEMMER
L
iberal, Missouri, was founded as an “atheist utopia” in 1880 by George Walser, a lawyer and Missouri state legisla tor. The town was named af ter the nearby Liberal League, to which Walser belonged, and ad vertised itself to atheists across the country as a community that “has neither God, Hell, Church, norWalserSaloon.”created a school system that removed the influence of Christian theology and promoted instructional classes on Sundays to replace religious services. “The Free Thought University” was established in 1886 with seven teachers offering routine lectures and organizing intellectual de bates. In 1890, the arrival of the railroad boosted the population of Liberal to 546.
ParadiseGodless
MISSOURILAND
Christians were immediately offended by the town, and Clark Braden excoriated it to the skies in a St. Louis Post-Dispatch ar ticle in 1885. He claimed alco holism was rampant, everyone swore and “feticide is universal.”
Liberal, Missouri, was supposed to be an oasis for atheists, but that didn’t last long
HOME[ ]
riverfronttimes.com SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 RIVERFRONT TIMES 13
A CELEBRATION OF THE UNIQUE AND FASCINATING ASPECTS OF OUR
14 RIVERFRONT TIMES SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 riverfronttimes.com
riverfronttimes.com SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 RIVERFRONT TIMES 15
PHOTOS BY THEO WELLING
They work at an intersection in the shadow of Wash U, hustling for a place to lay their heads. Here are their stories
*OurtheirnamesonlyrequestedKeith(fromsubjectsleft:Kayla,andSherry)thatweusetheirfirsttoprotectprivacy. Continued on pg 16
Keith is one of a handful of people who fre quents the intersection. Across from a private
At night, he’ll sometimes pay $16 for a board ing room just north of here. Other nights, he’ll find a corner to curl up in a place he feels safe often near Skinker.
BY OLIVIA POOLOS
In his left hand, Keith holds a cardboard sign –– “Just Hungry, please help, Lost everything God bless u to bless others” –– scrawled with a black Sharpie. Keith’s right hand, missing a middle finger goes from forehead to hip as he salutes drivers in time with his march.
Keith* has been working the intersection of Skinker Boulevard and Forest Park Parkway for longer than most of the college kids who attend Washington Univer sity, just across the street, have been alive. He’s been there –– off and on, depending on whether he can land another job –– for more than 20Evenyears.during the months he’s unemployed, which is more and more often these days, Keith works a longer day than most cubicle-dwellers. He walks the intersection — east-west, northsouth with little regard to traffic signals for nearly 12 hours each day, sometimes more.
16 RIVERFRONT TIMES SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 riverfronttimes.com
Kayla is newer to this intersec tion. When herry and eith got started here, she was just a child, not even 10 years old. Now she’s a regular too. he stands on a cor ner watching cars pass her by. ome days she only makes a few bucks in an hour.
ome locals know eith herry and Kayla by name. Even more know them by description, or feel a pang of familiarity when they see their faces. Most don’t know their stories.
HOPE AND DESPAIR
other he says. he was the per fect woman. nything you’d ever want in a woman that was her.
t looking for cash and hang ing around an older crowd eith became a street pharmacist sell ing drugs.
At 18 or 19, Keith realized he had to get out. He flew back to t. Louis, where he had family. His niece picked him up from the air port with her friend.
While flying the sign, Keith salutes cars. | THEO WELLING
A er a spider bite got infected, Keith lost a finger. | THEO WELLING
“I didn’t have no money, so any money is good money eith says.
When eith was they got married and had two kids. Their son is now . Their daughter is 24 and moved to Texas with her mom when eith and his wife got divorced. Keith says neither of his kids fully know his situation, and
Keith and the friend hit it off. “We had a little crush on each
“My son, he has his own family. don’t ask him for anything. He’s about to get married and he has a daughter eith says.
herry travels nearly an hour by train every day to fly her sign here even though she needs a walker to move around comfort ably. Like Keith, she’s been work ing here for two decades watch ing as coffee shops come and go and the ramen restaurant replac es the pizza joint, which replaced a different kind of noodle shop years before. The intersection changes their situations in many ways have not.
he wants to keep it that way.
Continued from pg 15
eith’s story began only a few miles away, across a street that in t. ouis has become a symbol of divide. He was born in north t. ouis and grew up there in the ’ s as the baby of eight other siblings. n when eith was nine, his 15-year-old brother An dre was shot and killed.
Keith fits the profile of many unhoused people in the neighborhood: an older Black man, grizzled by years of being outside in harsh Missouri weather. In St. Louis, Black citizens are nearly four times more likely to be unhoused than white ones.
eith fits the profile of many unhoused people in the neigh borhood: an older Black man, grizzled by years of being outside in harsh Missouri weather. n t.
university that costs more than $70,000 annually to attend, and in front of a coffee shop selling egg bagels is a group of people who often have less than $50 to their name at any given moment. Not everybody wants them here; some people call the cops. Yet they’re adamant that this in tersection in t. ouis is the best place for them to be.
My mom said Well ’ve lost one son and ’m not gonna lose another one ’ eith says. he moved eith and his siblings to Northern California.
Keith is a familiar face at the intersection in front of Wash U. He’s been there o and on for more than 20 years. | THEO WELLING
t’s very competitive. eople will just hop in front of you, and then nobody’s gonna make mon ey she says. ’ve seen people stabbed over spots. It’s their mon ey t’s how they survive.
riverfronttimes.com SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 RIVERFRONT TIMES 17
want a ob he says. ome times my sign will say Willing to Work.’
Keith says, however, that eye contact isn’t the most pressing is sue on his mind. He’s more wor ried about outright aggression from passersby.
Despite all this, Keith is here to stay. t. ouis has to be the most feasible place for me, economywise he says.
He hears racial slurs. He hears o get a ob even more. ome times, he says, people even try to spit on or hit him.
ergeant olin Tully a risis Intervention team coordinator and part of the Co-Responder Unit for the t. ouis Metropolitan o
nd she’s angry at the police who she says will stop and search her at random. “The city cops, they fucking suck. nd y’all have serious shit to do, instead of fuck ing with someone with a piece of cardboard ayla says.
A former team leader at the Kaldi’s coffee shop on the corner, Jonah Walker, says that one of his first interactions with eith was a few years ago when eith was found asleep outside the store. Walker was unable to wake him up easily and ended up calling emergency services.
early every day, like she’s showing up for a shift ayla arrives at the intersection of kinker and orest ark arkway. Her hair is pulled into a ponytail, backpack on her back and black purse slung across her body. he rides the ed ine MetroLink an hour from Illinois to come here.
N
oberts says. This is their neigh borhood, and they’ve been here for a long time and often know the neighborhood so much bet ter than do or anyone walking around seems to.
expectant but saying nothing.
Continued on pg 19
“It’s almost like any other ac quaintance in your daily life
Two decades ago a friend of his a white guy with knowledge of the area brought him to this corner. When Keith needs money and isn’t working he’ll come back. He’s relatively comfortable here, knows the pattern of the lights and knows the people.
When he first started coming to the intersection, Keith could make $60 to $90 in a day. Now,
he’s angry at nearby aldi’s because she was banned from the shop a couple of years ago. Maud Halser the general manager at the time, says Kayla was banned for two instances when she cursed outKaylaemployees.isfriends with a few of the other regulars on the corner. he can be seen bandaging eith’s arms when his sores open, or of fering a lighter for a cigarette. ut she’s angry at some others for not following the unspoken rules here.
Keith says the owner of the boarding house he frequents has been talking about raising the price to per night which would eat up well over half a typi cal day’s earnings.
Welsch says he’s noticed that most people try not to acknowl edge the area’s unhoused deni zens. In the Midwest, where friendly greetings to strangers are commonplace, the silence toward people on the street stands out. enying eye contact feels like ’m denying a basic civil gesture Welsch says.
He marches, with a distinct jaunt, relentlessly, even on the hottest of summer days. By 11 a.m., his white long sleeve shirt is soaked withMollysweat.Roberts, who lives in the surrounding neighborhood with her partner Dylan Welsch, says they’ve seen Keith and other un housed people for years.
’m a really angry person. hate being angry. ’m angry all the time she says.
with more people showing up to fly signs each day he collects only about $25 to $30.
“It’s a lot easier to be homeless over here. There’s not shit over there ayla says. Not yet she’s one of the youngest people who regularly shows up at the in tersection but has already seen a lot of Mosthardship.days,Kayla is mad at the world.
Louis, Black citizens are nearly four times more likely to be un housed than white ones.
“It’s very competitive. People will just hop in front of you, and then nobody’s gonna make money,” says Kayla. “I’ve seen people stabbed over spots. It’s their money! It’s how they survive.”
Keith says it’s because he doesn’t sleep much. He got two hours last night in the underground kinker MetroLink station. “You wake up at every noise every five min utes he says.
Yet ideally, he’s not at this inter section forever.
The man walks over, wordlessly pulling a chunk off the chicken sandwich he’s eating and hands it to eith who hungrily stuffs it in hisEverymouth.couple of minutes, Keith nods off neck sloping downward and eyelids fluttering shut. He’ll stay that way for a few moments, then snap back upright looking
In the past, Keith’s had some steady construction work, which at one point allowed him to afford a studio with a kitchenette. He says that once he lost his middle finger to an infected brown re cluse bite a couple years ago he hasn’t been able to work like he used to. Thick scars run from his wrist to his elbow after doctors cut clear to the bone to clean out the“Thewound.last job I had was a year and a half maybe two years ago Keith says.
We weren’t sure if he was go ing to be Walker said. t was a scary Whenexperience.eithisn’t sitting or nap ping however he’s working hard.
t one point eith snaps his fin gers at another man sitting in the shade of the Metro sign a few feet away. hris he calls.
ne guy threw a cup of urine and feces out his window at me Keith says. “What kind of weirdass rides around with urine and feces in his car
Kayla rides the MetroLink Red Line an hour from Illinois to come to the Skinker and Forest Park Parkway intersection. | THEO WELLING
Continued on pg 21
found heroin and meth through some good friends. ike ’d never even touched it. nd then not nine days after my broth er died was like uck it ’m do ing everything ’ she says. nd then the heroin disappeared and now it’s nothing but fentanyl. entanyl she says feels like the warmest hug you will ever get.
HOPE AND DESPAIR
fter a few pleasantries he hands her a bill. He’s a mail man she says after he walks away. ives me a five every time seetandinghim. at the intersection on a typical seven or eight hour day ayla estimates she makes to . ome of that money will go toward a hotel room she shares with her boyfriend. He flies a sign on elmar close enough for ay la to feel safe. His sign often says Willing to Work or ’m Human Too. The hotel costs per week. The rest of her money goes to food dope and cigarettes. amona urtis the founding di rector of the grassroots nonprofit
again when Roe was overturned. These women out here they need that option she says. ou can’t be pregnant out here.
ayla follows the news pretty closely. he’ll pick up a free news paper or scroll acebook. he’s pretty staunchly pro choice not ing that the communities she be longs to are especially vulnerable to anti abortion laws. he was angry
nhoused T says a ma or fac tor that stops passersby from giv ing money to unhoused people is the worry that it will go to drugs or alcohol. he suggests that if someone is inclined to help they shouldn’t consider how the mon ey will be used.
ayla knows what it’s like to be sick. he says withdrawing from fentanyl is horrible like the flu times . he’ll go to a methadone clinic but still throw up shake get chills. he wants to go to rehab but says she doesn’t have the funds.
’d say to let that money go without udgment. They might do drugs but they might also buy lunch she says. walk away sometimes thinking What if comforted them by getting their medicine for the day ’ ecause quite frankly they are sick until they get those drugs.
Continued from pg 17
t knocks you out you don’t feel shit ayla says. t’s a very selfishayladrug.has two kids a son and a daughter. Her son is and lives with his dad now. ayla hasn’t seen him in seven years but thinks about him a lot she says. he got clean to have her daughter by a different man. That little girl lives with ayla’s grandmother who raised ayla too.
ayla’s anger can soften for mo ments at a time showing the pain and sadness underneath. he becomes tearful when she talks about her brother who passed away more than a decade ago when she was and he was . ife has been hell since then. t’s been really hard she says squinting to keep tears at bay. hortly after he died ayla says she started using.
s she’s talking to a reporter an older man walks up to ayla. he greets him enthusiastically voice pitching up a few octaves. Hey stranger How are you doing ou’re not working today
riverfronttimes.com SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 RIVERFRONT TIMES 19
Sherry lost her fiancé to liver cancer, which led her to become homeless. | THEO WELLING
nd ust a few months ago on May her dad died. His obitu ary doesn’t include the cause of
lice Department, says that when officers engage with unhoused people they’re generally respond ing to calls from members of the public.lot of times think people who are panhandling don’t real ize that somebody driving down kinker for example would see them and call the police Tully says. nd then the police have no choice but to stop and interact with that individual.
20 RIVERFRONT TIMES SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 riverfronttimes.com
“This has always been a famil iar territory. I came over one day, looked around to see if there’s someplace safe out of traffic she says.
“I was at that age where ev erybody … you know, girls were getting married, staying married for seven years and divorcing,” she says. herry was right on track. After seven years, she and Joe divorced.
ike most girls she knew her ry married young. Her husband, Joe, had just gotten back from the rmy and herry was .
“I just felt like I could do some thing else with my life. I felt like I was being held back, or held down,” she says.
he’ll come in and ask us how our week has been. We ask her the same thing,” former team lead Jonah Walker says. “I just love herry she’s so sweet.
Most people are kind, she says, offering to buy her things she needs. When she was homeless, herry realized she needed to be specific when asking for items.
herry is often the first customer at Kaldi’s coffee shop when it opens at a.m. he’ll get a hot coffee no matter the weather –– and, on weekends, a cinnamon roll. If they don’t have any, she’ll ask for some to be thrown in the oven. The em ployees usually comply.
“I’m more of a homebody,” herry says. ut if had to do it again, I would go anywhere they sent me.”
“I wish I could work. I have a place to stay only because I do come out here herry says. f didn’t do this for a sub-income, I couldn’t survive where I’m at.”
“I don’t really want to stop us ing yet because feeling feelings sucks,” she says.
“Peoplejudgments.disrespect you, talk negatively. ‘Get a job,’ ‘You’re ust lazy ’ uit faking you’re not hurt,’” she says.
ver herry is one of the old est people working at the intersec tion, with gray hair pulled back into a ponytail.
“If that’s the thing we’re sup
“Mike knew I was on the street trying to survive, and he said, ‘I’m not trying to be funny. I see you by yourself and want to help you. And I don’t want anything sexual ly, I just want to be your friend,’” sheHesays.offered her a place to stay with him at the Grand Motel. The eff ander ou property is now the focus of a community cam paign due to reports of onsite drug overdoses and prostitution.
t the time herry was in a dark place after the loss of her fiance job, house and sense of normalcy.
Without cotty’s income herry wasn’t able to make payments on their house. Her parents had both passed, and she found herself with no support and no place to live.
“I ended up letting him take care of me. I needed guidance. I had never ever done this completely on my own, out on the streets,” herry says.
“Being out on the streets, living in a tent in the middle of winter and it’s snowing outside, it’s really rough,” Sherry says. “I tried [to work, but when you’re homeless, and you gotta get up, shower and find a place to look presentable, and then you’re running late and you miss the bus...”
posed to not be, then that must be a bad thing. o those poor people have failed to do the things that we have figured out how to do. That’s what we choose to tell our selves,” Curtis says.
Her childhood was relatively typical. herry attended ind bergh High, hung out at Crest wood Mall (it was demolished in 2016), and went on dates to the movie theater. After school, she got a job as a secretary for two brothers running a small sales of fice. few years later she trans ferred to rown hoe ompany now known as Caleres.
“I always wanted to be involved in the community, be involved in something that was bigger than myself herry says.
The methadone clinic Kayla frequents hires former addicts to work there and counsel patients. Kayla says she’d like the job, but that would require her to get clean. he knows that’s the step she has to take to better her life. But she’s not quite ready.
seems at first glance like any oth er grandmother espousing tales of childhood and life “back in the day.”
Passersby, though sometimes generous and kind, don’t always understand her situation and make
“There was a lot of alcohol and drugs around when we were there herry says. nd they take advantage of the street peo ple that come in and pay a week at a time. They raise the rent really high. But everybody wants to be off the street.”
“You get home at the end of the day and it’s just you and your three cats, and you just think about things,” she says. “A conversation is worth so much, you know?” n
But she says she still relies on the money she makes –– any where from $1 to $100 per day ––at the intersection.
herry has lived through the loss of three men she loved in her life a husband and two fianc s. he’s also faced a variety of health issues, exacerbated by time spent unhoused or facing the elements.
After a few years of being un housed herry met Mike.
death –– just that he’s survived by Kayla, her two sisters and a hand ful of grandchildren. Kayla says he overdosed. He had used meth regularly, she says, but this was his first time trying fentanyl. he tears up, again, as she reminisces about how she and her dad used to hang out. he even lived with him for a little while a few years ago.
These days herry has a place to stay. he fractured her back in 2015 after a bone infection weak ened her spine, making her per manently unable to work. Now, she cobbles together ocial e curity, unemployment and a dis ability check to pay rent on a oneroom apartment with a kitchen and a bed.
be connected to people in a mean ingful way.
n five years herry says she hopes she’s still standing strong. he wants to make more friends that she can talk to about her struggles, or just daily life.
Instead of her dad’s death scar ing her away from fentanyl, Kayla found that her grief pushed her toward it.
T
herry holds a lit cigarette only occasionally taking a drag. he
“Hecancer.wasso sick. One day he woke up, and it was like nobody was home. He just had a blank stare,” herry says. He died soon after.
he en oyed being secretarial she says but was always looking to
ometimes they come back and bring you absolutely nothing you can use. Canned soup with no
opener. I mean, everything people bring is nice. But boxed macaroni and cheese? Where am I gonna cook that? It makes me laugh,” she says.
“I was like, ‘I mean, the worst he could do is kill me.’ That’s where my mindset was. It couldn’t get any worse than that,” she says.
he corner of kinker and or est Park Parkway attracts those down on their luck, and herry fits right in. he’s seen her share of bad luck over the nearly two decades that she’s been there flying a sign that says as much.
But it didn’t get worse. It got bet ter. herry says Mike was good to her. They eventually got engaged, and Mike had a job working retail and could bring home a little cash. He helped her find the place she stays now, and one day, brought home three kittens lyde ittle and ylvester.
riverfronttimes.com SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 RIVERFRONT TIMES 212 RIVERFRONT TIMES AUGUST 31-SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 riverfronttimes.com
Continued from pg 19
amona urtis of the nonprofit nhoused T says that capitalis tic society tells us that being poor is one of the worst things someone can be. That idea, she thinks, ex plains the malice that unhoused people face.
“Being out on the streets, living in a tent in the middle of winter and it’s snowing outside, it’s really rough herry says. tried to work] but when you’re homeless, and you gotta get up, shower and find a place to look presentable and then you’re running late and you miss the bus …” he lost her ob at rown hoe. t was then that herry found her way to the corner of kinker and orest ark.
herry often stands about a block south from the actual inter section near the entrance of or est
“PeoplePark. can clearly see me, though I do have a couple of peo ple that swerve at me. I don’t know why. There’s always a couple of idi ots in the world,” she says, waving her hands dismissively.
HOPE AND DESPAIR
et herry’s story takes a turn. Years after her divorce, she got engaged to a new man cotty. he was still working as a sec retary at rown hoe. he says the company even offered to send her on work trips, but she turned them down every time.
ix months ago Mike died. Now herry is alone again with the cats.
ince Mike’s died ’ve been kind of in a dark place again,” herry says. he’s worried about her health; a doctor told her that drainage in her legs could be a sign of kidney failure. he’s wor ried about the rising price of food and kitty litter. he’s worried about her friend Kayla, who’s gone through some rough patches herself recently.
Then cotty was diagnosed with liver
hour. Admission is free; for more information visit greatforestpark balloonrace.com.
Local Art FTW
9 p.m., and the artist herself will talk with Richard Powell, profes sor of art and art history at Duke University, on Saturday, Septem ber 17, at 4 p.m. The show runs through Sunday, February 5, 2023.
Back for its seventh year, South Grand Fall Fest will take over South Grand with 70 boutique local vendors selling their wares on the sidewalks outside the di verse array of restaurants that are the hallmark of the strip. The event offers the perfect pairing of a great meal and great shopping. There will be games for kids — including the perennial favorite life-size Connect Four — as well as bands performing at Ritz Park (3147 South Grand Boulevard). Get there early to catch erstwhile The Urge frontman and restaura teur Steve Ewing as the Steve Ew ing Duo kicks things off at 11 a.m. The free-admission event runs until 8 p.m.
Leslie Hughes wanted St. Louis to have a festival that rivaled popu lar events in cities such as Atlanta, New Orleans, Brooklyn and Paris, according to the St. Louis Ameri can. In 2017, that led her to create Frizz Fest, an annual celebration of self love and confidence among women intended to be freeing, celebrating uniqueness and natu ral beauty while supporting local businesses. Although the event is primarily targeted to women of color, the event coordinators welcome “all people, of all ages, from all walks of life.” Festival activities include shopping, food vendors, music, dance, yoga, nat ural hair demos and discussions, pony rides, face painting, arts and crafts ra es and giveaways. t tend the fest at Tower Grove Park (4257 Northeast Drive) from noon to 6 p.m. Attendance is free. More information at frizzybynature. com.
Every other year, the Contempo rary Art Museum St. Louis (3750 Washington Boulevard, 314-5354660, camstl.org) takes a pause from bringing in some of the fin est external art and focuses on the talent from within this region during the Great Rivers Bienni al. The biennial identifies three early or mid-career artists, grants them $20,000 and features them in an exhibition. This year’s re cipients are Yowshien Kuo, a Tai wanese American painter whose work features and humanizes “those relegated by recent his tories”; Yvonne Osei, a Germanborn Ghanaian multimedia art ist, educator and advocate whose work explores beauty, racism and colorism; and Jon Young, a citi zen of the Catawba Indian Nation whose sculptures consider lan guage and signage in the Ameri can West. The exhibition will be on display until Sunday, February 12, 2023, and the museum is open Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.
22 RIVERFRONT TIMES SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 riverfronttimes.com
Glow On
THURSDAY 09/15
Celebrate Natural Beauty
SATURDAY 09/17
BY RIVERFRONT TIMES STAFF
FRIDAY 09/16
The Cherokee Street Theater Com pany is giving Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2 Live Parody at the Golden Record (2720 Cherokee Street, iesonoriginalafterkill-bill-live-parody)treettheatercompany.com/shows/cherokeesasecondgohavingtorescheduletherun.TheshowisbasedtheQuentinTarantinomov
Cast in Bronze
Eat Globally, Buy Locally
Frizz Fest is an annual celebration of self love and confidence. | PHILLIP ELLINGTON MEDIA
22
Barbara Chase-Riboud has had a groundbreaking career as a Black female sculptor, poet and novel ist. The Pulitzer Arts Foundation (3716 Washington Boulevard, pulitzerarts.org) is celebrating her career with the retrospective exhibit Barbara Chase-Riboud Monumentale: The Bronzes. The free show will include 50 of her most striking sculptures and works on paper, such as ChaseRiboud’s award-winning poetry. Also expect some nod to ChaseRiboud’s controversial book Sally Hemmings: A Novel, about the slave that Thomas Jefferson fa thered children with after his wife died. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis convinced Chase-Riboud to write the book, and it was a sensation, but mainstream histo rians argued that it was not true and even convinced CBS not to do a miniseries based on the novel. N tests later confirmed that descendants of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings are still alive today. The opening reception is on Friday, September 16, from 5 to
Now in its 50th year, the Great Forest Park Balloon Race, St. Louis’ yearly gravity-defying spec tacle of transportational whimsy, will once again take to the skies this weekend. The festivities kick off on Friday evening with the popular Balloon Glow, for which the bulbous and basketed blowup birds will stay grounded but lit up by their burners for your enjoyment. The night will end with a parachute team and a fire works finale (mercifully for the parachuters, not simultaneously), with the race itself slated for the following day. There will be food and live music, family-friendly fun and plenty of opportunity for a picnic as the balloons take flight for the competition blast ing through the air at breakneck speeds approaching 10 miles per
CALENDAR
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and 2 about an assassin whose former boss, the titular Bill, crashes her wedding, murders everyone and leaves her in a coma. Bill and the group of women who helped him had bet ter watch out, because the assas sin is out for revenge. The first few rows are a splash zone where brave attendees can expect to be sprayed with Tarantino-style fake gore. Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2 Live Par ody runs through Saturday, Octo ber 1. Shows start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 or $50 for the splash seats and include free entry to an afterparty.
Parody Vol. 2
Have you ever wanted to go to Oktoberfest but not wanted to be surrounded by drunken louts? Perhaps so you can bring your progeny along? Well, the Oktoberfest at Grant’s Farm (10501 Gra vois Road, 314-843-1700, p.m.more.toursmalselfunonsoftoBandsincedrink,berSeptemberthatmightfarm.com/oktoberfest-2022)grantsbetheinnocentcelebrationyouseek.HeldfromFriday,16,toSunday,Septem18,thefestwillfeaturemusic,foodandfun,especiallytheDeutschmeisterBrasswillbeperforming.Ticketsthemainfestareonlythepriceparking($3)butthereareadd-forotheractivitiessuchasapass($2andincludesacarouride,frozentreatandtwoanifeedings),Clydesdaleclose-up($25),aVIPpass($149)andTheeventrunsfrom4to9
Check out the fest from 12:30 to 4 p.m. at Majorette (7150 Manches ter Avenue, Maplewood; 314-2245775). Tickets are $45 and include two bar tickets and unlimited tast ings.
All Natural
At Laumeier Sculpture Park, the only sight more beautiful than the park’s sprawling collection of outdoor sculptures is the thriv ing woodland that surrounds it. From now to Sunday, Decem ber 11, Laumeier Sculpture Park will bring both to the foreground with its new exhibition Forest Through the Trees, which cel ebrates man’s relationship to na ture through the work of 11 art ists. Each piece explores different interpretations of the beauty and power of trees, with mediums ranging from cut paper and tree trunks to palm trees made out of steel. View the exhibition at the
Gin Is Back
spectacular in-person events that often weren’t possible safely dur ing the peak of the pandemic. St. Louisans can rejoice this week as one of the greats returns: Ginworld Gin Festival St. Louis. Cre ated by Salve Osteria owner Na tasha Bahrami and her Ginworld team, the event promises to be an all-day celebration and education al opportunity about gin, amaro, vermouth and zero-proof spirits. In addition to tastings, the festi val will provide opportunities to meet the makers and includes an outdoor zero-proof spirits garden.
OverTranquilityTea
riverfronttimes.com SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 RIVERFRONT TIMES 23
TUESDAY 09/20
Aronson Fine Arts Center (12580 Rott Road, 314-615-5278) from noon to 7 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sat urdays and Sundays.
About 17 years ago, a group of passionate music lovers came to gether to form the Old Webster Jazz & Blues Festival. Each year since, the festival has grown, and now attendees number more than 12,000 annually. This year’s fes tival promises the best in music, food and beverage, shopping and entertainment such as face paint ing, juggling and balloons. Two stages will feature performances by the WGHS Jazz Band, Jazz Docs, Webster U Faculty Jazz Ensemble, Matt “The Rattlesnake” Lesch Band, Bach to the Future, Mar quise Knox, Aubory Bugg, Blues City Swing, Walter Parks, Har vey Lockhart and the Collective, Donna Herula and The Erin Bode Group. The stages are located at either end of Glencoe, and the music starts at noon. Attendance is free.
MONDAY 09/19
WEDNESDAY 09/21
Have an event you’d like consid ered for our calendar? Email cal endar@riverfronttimes.com.
Yvonne Osei’s No Child’s Play is part of the Great Rivers Biennial. | COURTESY YVONNE OSEI
The last two years have been undeniably difficult across the board, but something that made them just that much more trou blesome has been missing those
SUNDAY 09/18
Chocolate and wine are a classic combo for a reason. Not only can trying them alongside one anoth er bring out new rich flavor notes but let’s face it: It’s just fun to sam ple two decadent delights togeth er. St. Louisans can get in on the action at the Chocolate and Wine Tasting Event hosted by Chateau
Webster Bebop
Tea lovers can catch one of the final events at the Morgan ord location of the London Tea Mer chant with Chado: The Japanese Way of Tea. Though the London Tea Room has historically done mostly British-style service, the event will focus on traditional Japanese tea ceremonies and is presented in partnership with the Junshin-an Chado Society of St. Louis. Ikeda Junko-sensei will lead the tea ceremony, and attend ees will get to taste the tea as well as a selection of sweets. Attend the ceremony at the London Tea Room (3128 Morgan Ford $40.241-6556)thelondonteamerchant.com,Road,314-at6:30p.m.Ticketsare n
Delight and Imbibe
WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 15-21
Maplewood (7326 Manchester Road, Maplewood; costingsiteownerriencetheBijouxpaintedwinethechateaumaplewood.com).314-899-0105,Duringevent,thefamily-runbarandshopwillbepairinghand-chocolatefromSt.Louis’withwinesfromaroundworld.It’sagustatoryexpenottobemissed.BijouxMeggieMobleywillbeontohelpleadthefun.Thetastbeginsat6p.m.,andtickets$50.
Awesome-fest
24 RIVERFRONT TIMES SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 riverfronttimes.com
hood memories. He had it in his mind that he would one day open a Mexican restaurant to recreate those flavors something he’d been thinking about since he was a young cook but he was so fo cused on his fine dining career that he never made it happen. The pandemic put those ideas on the front burner. Like all res
taurants, the acclaimed Cortex eat ery faced serious uncertainty sur rounding when or if people would return to indoor dining. This forced the management team to get creative, so they put some tables and chairs on the front lawn and offered everything from burg ers to fried chicken in place of the elegant tasting menus they had be
Vicia Gardenside’s Taqueria Morita serves pure Baja-style edible bliss
ThanMore SustenanceMere
riverfronttimes.com SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 RIVERFRONT TIMES 25
come known for. The setup turned out to be more than just a way to generate income; it became such a runaway success that Martinez, to gether with Vicia’s owners Michael and Tara Gallina, decided to make the outdoor area into a more for mal patio space. They worked with architects to create a lovely, land scaped pavilion and outdoor order counter and crowned the space Vi ciaMartinezGardenside.instantly recognized Vicia Gardenside as the perfect venue for his Baja taqueria idea. Using his childhood memories as his guide, he sketched out a menu that would finally bring to t. ou is the flavors he’d longed for after moving to town several years ago. The result of that vision, Taqueria Morita, opened in late May and has quickly become one of the area’s most thrilling destinations for regional Mexican cuisine. An chored by Martinez’s well-honed fine dining techniques and icia’s vegetable-forward philosophy, Taqueria Morita marries the ease and comfort of a fast-casual spot with the quality of high-end dining an experience that feels delight
CAFE 25
W
Taqueria Morita 4260 Forest Park Avenue, 314-553-9239. Thurs.-Sat. 5-10 p.m. (Closed Sunday through Wednesday.)
Taqueria Mortia’s shrimp aguachile includes white soy, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and morita oil. | ANDY PAULISSEN
Continued on pg 27
Aaron Martinez is the chef at Taqueria Morita. | ANDY PAULISSEN
hen he was a young boy growing up in Southern California, Aaron Marti nez would regularly pile into the car with his family and drive south to Mexico. It was as common an occurrence as a St. Louisan packing up to go to Lake of the Ozarks for a long weekend, only instead of a bumper-to-bum per trip down the hellscape that is I-70, Martinez and company would cross the border and head down the MEX-1D for a scenic coastal drive that would lead them past any number of beachside fish taco stands, shrimp shacks and cevicherias. Their final destination would be a campground in Rosari to Beach or Ensenada, and they’d spend their days seeking out the best spots for lobster, carne asada tacos and fresh seafood. Even as a college kid, when he was less in terested in hanging out with his parents, Martinez would take his buddies down south for surfing and cervezas. These experiences were not destined to become mere memories they helped to define hisMartinezidentity. would draw upon this side of himself when he began sketching out what to do with the sprawling lawn in front of Vicia, the acclaimed restaurant where he served as executive chef before becoming culinary director of its parent company, Take Root Hospi tality. As a SoCal native, Martinez would frequently lament the fact that he could not find anything in his adopted hometown that tasted like his Baja-infused child
Written by CHERYL BAEHR
26 RIVERFRONT TIMES SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 riverfronttimes.com
fresco and an herbaceous epazote salsa, the taco is a satisfying veg etarian umami bomb.
Continued eggplant barbacoa tacos includes shishito mojo, crispy masa and peanut salsa macha. | ANDY PAULISSEN PAULISSEN
Martinez’s food, however, turns this setting from simply delight ful to transportative. Dishes like shrimp aguachile, which pairs slices of plump, tender shrimp with peak-of-the-season cherry tomatoes and cucumbers, are so evocative of the coast that you feel as if you can taste the salty air blowing in from the acific as much as the bracing citrus and white soy sauce that dresses the shellfish. watermelon salad is equally refreshing. The ruby red fruit is so ripe it comes across like fruit juice suspended in solid form. The melon’s sugary taste, together with the cooling effect of fresh mint counters slices of fiery errano chilis flecked through out the dish. Crunchy pepitas add texture, resulting in a beautifully balanced dish that feels like the quintessence of summer day din ingTofare.fully immerse yourself in Martinez’s childhood memories,
ishing it on the grill. These efforts pay off into pure, edible bliss.
e
Eating that eggplant taco while sipping on one of beverage direc tor Phil Ingram’s delicious cock tails on a pleasant late summer evening, you understand why Martinez’s Baja experience stuck with him. Something about being in a certain setting with distinc tive flavors at a particular mo ment in time shows that food and drink are about more than mere sustenance they can transport you to a special place in some one’s mind — while making you feel as if there’s nowhere you’d rather be.
you must get the tacos — in par ticular the ones filled with fish tempura. This taco ticks off all the boxes that make for a proper rendition of the Baja favorite: crunchy cabbage, chipotle cre ma, fresh jalapeños and cilantro. However, what makes it so special is the fish’s texture the coating is ridiculously crispy but so delicate it’s almost fluffy while the white fish itself is a buttery masterpiece. One bite and you understand why Martinez missed them so.
fully in tune with this particular moment in the culinary zeitgeist.
from pg 25 e
Shrimp
Much of Taqueria Morita’s joy is owed to the setting. Located in the heart of Cortex, the venue sits in the middle of a bustling, “going places part of the city that fills you with hope for the future of the region. Taqueria Morita provides a lush overlook to this scene. Fruit trees are interspersed with other edible delights to form a beauti ful foodscape. Tables and wovenbacked patio chairs sit on pebble pathways through the garden, and a soaring covered pavilion serves as much as an art instal lation as a way to protect guests from the early evening sun.
Veggies and herbs like chilies and basil are picked fresh from the garden bed outside the kitchen. PAULISSEN eggplant barbacoa tacos include mojo, masa peanut | ANDY
aguachile $17 Eggplant barbacoa tacos .........................$12 Fish tempura tacos ................................... $16
| ANDY
e Tomatillo (right) includes sotol, blanco tequila, tomatillo, green apple, cucumber, citrus and mint. e Durazno includes blanco tequila, ginger liqueur, peach cordial and lemon. | ANDY
ut the fish tacos are not the only tortilla masterpieces com ing from Taqueria Morita’s small kitchen. Carne asada — which can often be chewy — has the yield ing firmness of a perfectly cooked steak. Oyster mushroom tacos, too have a pleasantly firm tex ture adorned with cashew queso
TAQUERIA MORITA
riverfronttimes.com SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 RIVERFRONT TIMES 27
Taqueria Morita
In place of a more common al pastor taco, Martinez prepares his pork with ripe peaches that infuse the meat with subdued summer time sweetness. It’s a lovely riff. His tostada, spread thickly with whipped goat cheese and topped with scapes, pickled garlic and a charred tomato salsa, is the sort of open-faced revelation you’d expect from a fine dining chef turned taco master. However, his most impressive handiwork is the eggplant barbacoa tacos, which are so shockingly beefy even the fiercest carnivore would be sated. Martinez details the lengths to which he goes to coax such robust flavor from the vegetable roast ing smoking marinating and fin
28 RIVERFRONT TIMES SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 riverfronttimes.com
A spokesperson for the restau rant who asked to remain anony mous confirmed the news to the Riverfront Times in a phone call last week, noting that the closure was technically being referred to as temporary, though the restau rant would likely never reopen.
In 2019, Sparks opened Layla’s second location in Webster Groves but transitioned the spot into the daytime concept, Layla and the Bad Egg, late last year. As the spokesperson noted, the Webster Groves restaurant remains open and business there is as usual. n
A
[FOOD NEWS]
Layla, a longtime Grove cocktails and shawarma hot spot, has closed. | IMAGE VIA GOOGLE MAPS
W
It’s a heartbreaking feeling that is about to become much less common thanks to some big changes at Nathaniel Reid. On August 30, the beloved bakery unveiled a significant expansion to its back-of-house space — a sizable increase in production facilities that will allow the bakery to bring its loyal custom-
Written by CHERYL BAEHR
in 2012 as a traditional Lebanese restaurant. A year later, the res taurant was purchased by Jason Sparks, who converted the space into a delightful fusion of Middle Eastern and American cuisine. Under his watch, Layla became just as well known for its fries and shakes as its shawarma and hum mus and was lauded for such a unique blend of offerings.
29
Kouign-amann for All
Layla, a beloved Grove mainstay, has closed
ers more of what they’ve come to love over the past six years.
giant of the city’s cocktail scene and popular spot for burgers, shawarma and fries has served its last guests.
of themselves in order to take care of their“Thecustomers.community has been so gra cious in coming here every day,” Snay says. “We have so many people whose orders we know; we know what they want for breakfast or if their kids are having a birthday. They know us, and we know them, and it’s nice that we didn’t have to leave them and can expand in what feels like our home.”
“Chef [Reid] was looking at expansion opportunities, and it just so happened that the owner of the company next to us was retiring,” says Brianna Snay, Na thaniel Reid Bakery’s general manager. “We were able to expand just next door, so we can expand our bakery items and products — and hopefully not run out of kouign-amann by 11 a.m.”
riverfronttimes.com SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 RIVERFRONT TIMES 29 [FOOD NEWS]
As Snay explains, this is not the first time that Nathaniel Reid Bakery has had to expand to meet robust demand. In 2018, a mere two years after opening in a small Kirkwood strip mall, the bakery built out a dedicated bread kitchen downstairs from the storefront because desire for its products was much higher than it could produce in the upstairs facilities. Though there was casual talk about finding other buildings, Snay notes that Reid has always been emphatic about staying in Kirkwood. That’s why the opportunity to take over the adjacent storefront was so Thoughperfect.
nated on August 31, 2022, and the tenant, Four Sparks LLC, had until that same day to vacate the prem ises. Layla’s spokesperson did not speak to the contents of the notice but blamed the restaurant’s prob lems on staffing issues.
Nathaniel Reid Bakery increases production with newly expanded space
ayla first opened in the rove
She added that the restaurant’s sister location in Webster Groves, Layla and the Bad Egg, remains open and Accordingbustling.toaNotice of Termi nation dated August 17, 2022, that was posted on Layla’s front door, the restaurant’s lease was termi
on cakes, meringues and macarons. Another benefit of the expansion is an improved work environment for Nathaniel Reid Bakery’s dedicated staff. The extra space allows the team to spread out and provides room for additional equipment as well as an increased workspace to fulfill large catering orders. An office is part of the expansion, as is an employee break room that will give the staff a place to rejuvenate, so that they can take care
Layla (4317 Manchester Av enue), the 10-year-old Grove res taurant and bar, has closed.
neither the 2018 nor the current expansion increased the bakery’s retail space, Snay says that customers will experience palpable benefits to the increased capacity. In addition to keeping the kouign-amann stocked, she notes that the bakery team will be able to produce more varieties of favorite items, such as additional flavor options
Written by CHERYL BAEHR
SHORT ORDERS
The new ownership also ush ered in a fresh emphasis on Lay la’s beverage program, and the restaurant’s bar quickly became one of the top players in the city’s then-nascent cocktail scene. Big names in St. Louis cocktail culture honed their craft at Layla, most notably Tony Saputo, who made its bar into a must-visit destina tion for beverage enthusiasts.
Nathaniel Reid’s production expansion means more of the sweet treats we’ve come to know and love. | MABEL SUEN
n
Vacated
e’ve all experienced this tragedy. You drive out to Kirkwood with your heart set on one thing and one thing only: a subtly sweet, butterdrenched kouign-amann from Nathaniel Reid Bakery (11243 Manchester Road, Kirkwood; 314-858-1019, www.nrbakery. com). You park your car, walk through the bakery’s front doors and patiently wait in line by the pastry case, only to find that when it’s your turn to order, your beloved Breton pastry is nowhere in sight.
“Bread Co.” betrays us, changes name to Panera in some metro St. Louis locations
St. Louis in 1987. Au Bon Pain bought the business in 1993 and changed its name to Panera a few years later, but most local Panera Bread locations remained ap propriately dubbed as St. Louis Bread Company.
than 30 years ago, and we re main committed to serving the STL community — all bakerycafes currently in St. Louis city and St. Louis County are proudly remaining as St. Louis Bread Co. locations,” Jess Hesselschwerdt wrote in an email to the RFT. “As other bakery-cafes in the sur rounding area undergo standard remodeling, some will take on the Panera Bread name.”
For most longtime St. Louisans, though, none of this matters; Panera will always be St. Louis Bread Company or “Bread Co.,” just as whatever that concert ven ue in Maryland Heights is called will always be referred to as “Riv erport.” A Bread Co. by any other name can still continue to do the one thing we all hold dear.
Locations outside St. Louis city and county will be affected, while those within the city and county proper will remain unchanged. The rollout is taking place as they undergo “standard remodeling,” icluding, apparently, a storefront in O’Fallon, Missouri, which is now sporting the Panera logo.
S
According to the company’s website its first cafe opened in
Et BreadTu, Co.?
Written by MONICA OBRADOVIC
ay goodbye to St. Louis Bread Company … or at least some ofAnthem.employee of the fastcasual dining chain who asked to remain anonymous tells the Riverfront Times that Panera Bread, a St. Louis-founded institu tion, plans to switch the names of some remaining St. Louis Bread Company cafes to Panera in a stunning act of betrayal. Have they forgotten that St. Louisans’ middling taste is what propelled them to the national status Panera maintainsAccordingtoday?toaspokesperson for
The name switch is apparently a cost-saving measure, according to our anonymous source. Pro ducing paper products with two different brand names is just too expensive.Weget it. Times are tough. However, we can’t ignore how the name switch will gouge a hole in St. Louis culture, much like that of a hollowed bread bowl. What’s next? Will Nelly suddenly an nounce he’s not actually from St. Louis? Will Imo’s cut its pizza in concentric circles? Will the Arch sink into the Mississippi River?
riverfronttimes.com SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 RIVERFRONT TIMES 31 [FOOD NEWS]
“We are so proud of our home town, where we started more
is O’Fallon Panera’s new sign is no mask for Bread Co.’s true identity. | JENNA JONES
St. Louis Bre — er, Panera — this slap to the face is only taking place in the metro area’s outer ’burbs.
“Don’t worry,” Hesselschwerdt says. “We will still be bread-slic ing those bagels.” n
HorizonsExpanding
Fifteen years later, the Brownes have seen their decision to open Robust Bistro and Wine Bar in the heart of Old Webster as the best decision they ever made. Not only have they had front-row seats to the area’s explosive restaurant scene growth, they have become a vital part of the community as much as it has become a part of them. From the financial crisis to the pan demic and the highs and lows in between, Stanley and Arlene credit their Webster Groves neighbors as being the key to their success.
32 RIVERFRONT TIMES SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 riverfronttimes.com
Written by CHERYL BAEHR
Gables Inn and eventually transi tioned out of restaurants to Bom marito Wines & Spirits.
At the time, Robust felt like a gamble. Not only was the Webster Groves food scene untested, there were only a few wine bars in town, and none offering the sort of experience Stanley and Arlene were. The Brownes’ model was (and remains) centered on ex panding their guests’ wine knowledge, so they offered three-ounce tasting pours in addition to the traditional six-ounce full pour. Flights were central to the Robust experience, and Stanley would make sure to ease people into try ing new things by pairing a recog nizable wine with lesser-known varietals. The pair also curated an impressive retail wine selection, so guests could take bottles with them and experiment at home.
rlene Browne will never for get her reaction when her husband, Stanley Browne, suggested they look at a storefront in Webster Groves for the wine bar they were getting ready to
“We felt that, at the time, most restaurants in St. Louis had these regular lists, and there wasn’t much guidance there for the cus tomers,” Stanley says. “We want ed to offer that. When you learn about wine, you learn about so many other things — history, ge ography, soil. We wanted people to be able to learn in a restaurant set ting in an approachable way, not snobby or with the old sentiments
ST. LOUIS STANDARDS
32
“When you learn about wine, you learn about so many other things — geography,history,soil.”
It was something he was well positioned to do. As a kid growing up in England and Ireland, Stan ley Browne came to wine at an early
Robust Bistro and Wine Bar built the model for St. Louis wine bars
His father was no mere hobby ist, however. The family owned a bed-and-breakfast in Ireland, and Browne began helping them run the business when he was 16 years old. He parlayed this knowl edge into professional studies, go ing to school in Galway, Ireland, for hotel and restaurant manage ment and then working in Basel, Switzerland, before coming to St. Louis. Once here, he worked for Marriott Hotels and the Seven
Robust Bistro and Wine Bar opened in Webster Groves in 2007. | ANDY PAULISSEN
& Spirits’ top sales representa tives, Stanley saw up close the de sire for a place where people could come to not only enjoy wine but to expand their horizons in a com fortable setting. As he’d help res taurant managers and employees navigate Bommarito’s wine lists, he began to sketch out with Arlene an idea to provide that experience to the area’s dining scene.
“Findinglaunch.alocation was such a hard thing; we had the Central West End in our heads and were looking there very hard, but things fell through,” Arlene says. “Stanley told me that he wanted me to look at this place in Web ster Groves, and I told him that I didn’t even know where that was. I wasn’t familiar with Highway 44 and didn’t really know anything about it, and then he took me there, and there was almost noth ing on the street. I told him I didn’t know how it was going to work.”
Wine education was always important to Browne, so while at Bommarito, he founded the St. Louis Wine Clinic with his col league Chris Hoel. The course served as a study guide for aspiring sommeliers, but it also drove home for Browne how much he wanted to share his deep wine knowledge with those both in and out of the industry. He decided he was ready for a new challenge; Arlene, who had a background in marketing and public relations, was ready, too, so together they left behind their day jobs, signed a lease in Webster Groves and opened Ro
bust in September of 2007.
A
Robust Bistro and Wine Bar 227 West Lockwood Avenue, Webster Groves; Established314-963-00332007
“Myage.dad was a big Burgundy and Bordeaux collector, so I grew up drinking the good stuff,” he laughs. “I didn’t start out with Boone’s Farm or something like that.”
It’s been like this from the getgo, something that ceased to sur prise the Brownes the more they got to know the area. As Stanley explains, he had the feeling that Webster Groves was hungry for restaurants as much as the St. Louis area, at large, was hungry for a wine bar. Having spent a decade as one of Bommarito Wines
Edwardsville, Illinois, then closing those outposts to refocus on their original Webster Groves spot.
Robust Wine Bar to Robust Bistro and Wine Bar.
Stanley and Arlene Browne are the owners of Robust. | ANDY PAULISSEN
SCENE[ ]
Stanley and Arlene know their guests will appreciate these changes, just as they have stuck with them as they have grown and evolved over the years. They know that much of their success is owed to offering a unique, winefocused experience, good food and a relaxing environment. But when they really think things through, it’s clear that their guests have a deeper relationship with what they’ve created.
Even 15 years in, the Brownes are continuing to do new things. In celebration of the milestone anniversary, the pair have de cided to rebrand themselves from
Another change is the launch of a new ghost-kitchen concept called R BBQ, which will offer smoked meats and sides for guests to order online and take to go. The kitchen, a partnership with their longtime friend Vito Racanelli, will start out as a monthly offer ing, though the idea is to make it a weekly event as a way to fill the area’s barbecue void.
This central philosophy has not changed, even though much about Robust has evolved over the years. Stanley and Arlene are proud that they have been able to find ways to stay fresh and relevant as the metro area’s restaurant scene has exploded around them. They’ve transitioned out of their wine-ad
that people had about wine.”
“Food is 50 percent of our sales, but there are a lot of people who think we just offer cheese and crackers,” Stanley says.
“We’re just always trying to do new things,” Arlene says.
riverfronttimes.com SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 RIVERFRONT TIMES 33
Robust is known for its wine flights. | ANDY PAULISSEN
e business has recently rebranded to Robust Bistro and Wine Bar. | ANDY PAULISSEN
ICONIC PEOPLE, PLACES & DISHES THAT ANCHOR STL’S FOOD
jacent retail, expanded their food menu, added a Clean & Juicy line of healthful beverages such as al kaline waters, bone broths and cold pressed juices, and expanded their beer and cocktail programs to reflect the changing tastes of their guests. They’ve also weathered professional hardships, expand ing to downtown St. Louis and
“Webster and the community have been great to us and have been so supportive,” Stanley says. “It’s been a great relationship over the last 15 years, and I think the reason people have such feel ings for us is because they’ve cre ated a lot of memories here over the years. People remember this night or that night and how they felt when they were here. It’s be yond grabbing a drink; it’s creat ing memories.” n
34 RIVERFRONT TIMES SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 riverfronttimes.com [JUDGMENT DAZE]
Brand: Revolution Strain: T Rating: 9/10
Brand: Revolution Strain: Miami Punch Rating: 9/10
deep fruitiness like Hawaiian Punch. On inhale, it has a peppery taste with that fruity candy flavor popping in on the back end and a sneezy sensation moving up in the sinuses. The high was a functional one, not debilitating. For those in search of fruity and sweet flavors in their cannabis, this could easily be a new favorite.
Brand: Cresco Strain: Rainbows and Cherries Rating: 8/10
with a little purple for good mea sure. It has a sweet, earthy smell, not too funky, with a sticky keef covering that makes for squeaky fingers on breakup. n inhale it brings a strong taste with floral and candy notes, like smoking a Christmas cookie in a room full of flowers. relaxed chill set in be hind my eyes after a few coughs, and I found that it was a great high for maintaining focus. nice daytime smoke.
DDK. | TOMMY CHIMS
3634
Durban Poison. | TOMMY CHIMS
Brand: Fig Farms Strain: Figment Rating: Figment9/10istruly magical in its ap pearance: light green with specks of dark green, purple, orange and white, its blood-orange hairs reaching up and out. It brings a spicy and earthy smell, like stand ing in the lumber aisle at Home Depot, but sweeter. The buds are dense but not too sticky, and its sweet spicy flavor is delightful. s for effects it brings a mood enhancing, pleasant high.
I
Brand: Nature’s Grace and Wellness Strain: DDK Rating: 8/10
Miami Punch’s dense and sticky buds are positively frosted with white keef, with blood-orange hairs poking through the snow. Its smell is true to its name, a rich
Brand: UpNorth Humboldt Strain: Durban Poison Rating: 10/10
Durban Poison looks downright mean, dark green on the outside with a lighter core, and sporting thick, dark-orange hairs and dew drop crystals. It’s got a spicy, funky smell with sour-orange notes, but not piney or citrusy exactly. On in hale, it reminds me of the bubble hash of my youth a strong flavor that I found extremely tasty, with some spiciness up in the sinuses. s for effects this is a thinking man’s weed that had me all up in my head pontificating and pon dering — and also high as hell.
Brand: Cresco Strain: hortbread Rating: 8/10 hortbread’s buds are dark green on the outside, with thick orange hairs crawling across them and a heavy frosting of crystals, and the inside gets very white toward the center. On breakup it pulls apart
Miami Punch. | TOMMY CHIMS
REEFERFRONT TIMES
f you watch this space regularly — and of course you do! — then you know that your friendly local weed critic Tommy Chims was recently given the opportunity to serve as a judge for the People’s Choice Edi tion of Illinois’ Cannabis Cup. The good people at High Times saw fit to give me a udge’s kit for the sativa flower category in the weeks since my life has been a smoke filled haze of rigorous scientific analysis. The deadline for judgment has since passed, the smoke has cleared and my findings have officially been recorded. ince care about you deeply, dear reader, I’m going to share my thoughts on each strain with you here. In a break from the usual, however, we’re gonna go through these in a rapid fire manner rather than getting into granular detail because your time is precious. Below you’ll see short blurbs on 11 of the 22 strains I was tasked with reviewing, with the other half of the bunch set to be published in the near future. Read on and be sure to check the menus of the dispensaries over in Illinois if you wish to pro cure any of these stellar cultivars for yourself.
Rainbows and Cherries. | TOMMY CHIMS
Quick Hits
T ’s buds are a light pale green color at their core and get darker toward the outside, where they are covered in long, paleorange hairs. The strain has a citrusy and fuel-like smell and is rich and smooth on inhale, a real leather bookstore of a flavor. s for effects, it brought a relaxed but alert high that really got me going in the morning. Very potent, but not debilitatingly so.
perfectly, great to work with, leav ing your fingers dusty but not sticky. On inhale, it’s got a strong grassy taste with some fun funki ness and some sweetness to it. Its high is mellow but enjoyable, and I was still able to get some stuff done without issue.
Figments. | TOMMY CHIMS
TLC DOS. | TOMMY CHIMS
Tommy Chims reviews all the sativa-flower entries in Illinois’ Cannabis Cup competition
Written by THOMAS K. CHIMCHARDS
DDK’s buds are dark green with flecks of pale orange and white
Shortbread. | TOMMY CHIMS
nimal ake’s buds are dark green and orange on the outside, with a pale green and white center. On breakup, they are hard, but crispy and light and easy to work with, with a strong fuel and citrus smell
Sour Jack. | TOMMY CHIMS
riverfronttimes.com SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 RIVERFRONT TIMES 35
Rainbows and Cherries’ buds are green with light flecks of dark purple, covered in dusty clusters of keef and dense dewdrop crys tals. On breakup, it’s sticky and spicy with hints of onion, and it crumbles easily into a nice rolling consistency. On inhale, it’s rich and grassy, with lime and citrus notes. In all, it’s a nice mild upper that brings pleasant body-high warmth and makes you feel great, without a care in the world.
that punches you in the face. Fla vorwise the strain brings a power ful floral taste that hits right in the sinuses, and the effects hit almost immediately, strong and fast-act ing with a warm feeling through out the body.
Brand: zone Strain: nimal ake Rating: 9/10
M aroon’s buds are a stunning dark purple in color, so dark they almost appear black, and they break up to a light-green core that is covered in crystal-y keef. The strain has a fuel-like smell mixed with some grassiness, and on breakup it is dense and dusty. On inhale, it smells like it tastes: rich and fla vorful, with a gassy sensation in the sinuses. s for effects this stuff brings a creeper high for sure, a soaring-through-the-clouds ripper that surprised me with its potency.
Brand: Verano Strain: our ack Rating: 9/10
Frost Donkey lives up to its name (the first part of it at least maybe not the donkey so much) with a white frosty fuzz covering it in side and out. Its dark-green buds are covered in hairs that are al most red, giving the whole affair an autumnal feel. On inhale, it’s tangy and rich, with a chocolate or coffee sweetness in the back ground and a pleasant spiciness in the sinuses. s for effects it’s a great high, not too debilitating but plenty potent. great strain and possibly the coolest-looking of the whole sativa batch. n
Brand: Cresco Strain: M aroon Rating: 8/10
our ack is green with hints of purple on the outside, with tight patches of crystals and a spar kling core. It crumbles easily to a light and fluffy pile that would be great for rolling. On inhale, it has sour and sweet notes with hints of citrus and diesel — it’s incredibly unique in its flavor. t brings a strong but mellow high that kicks in hard with a burst of energy and stays there for the duration.
Brand: Revolution Strain: Frost Donkey BX1 Rating: 8/10
Animal Cake. | TOMMY CHIMS MACaroon. | TOMMY CHIMS
Frost Donkey BX1. | TOMMY CHIMS
36 RIVERFRONT TIMES SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 riverfronttimes.com MUNCHIE MONDAY: 15% o edibles including: beverages, tinctures, and topicals. 25% o Mama J’s TOP SHELF TUESDAY: 15% o all eighths 45 and above, corresponding grams too. Teal 25% o WAXY WEDNESDAY: 15% o concentrates, 25% o Gas Carts; Rainbow and Notorious 25% o TWISTED THURSDAY: 15% o all Prerolls; AiroPro 25% o , Vertical 25% o FUN FRIDAY: 15% o everything; 25% o Heya STOCKUP SATURDAY: 25% o Beach; Buy any eighth 40 and above get a Heya or Mama J’s eighth 40% o ; Vivid 25% o SUNDAY - SPEND 5% o for 20$- 45$, 10% o for 45$-75$, 15% o ; MORE, SAVE MORE: 75$ and above - Curador Live Resin Pens 25% o , Farmer G 25% o FIRST TIME PATIENT DEALS 1st visit: 30% o entire store, 40% o in house brands 2nd visit: 25% o entire store, 30% o in house brands 3rd visit: 20% o entire store, 25% o in house brands 4th visit: 15% o entire store, 20% o in house brands “Medical decisions should not be made based on advertising. Consult a physician on the benefits and risks of a particular medical marijuana products”
still don’t know exactly what watched but know that would watch it again.
Georgina Campbell plays Tess in Barbarian. | VIA 20TH CENTURY STUDIOS
L
Barbarian were that easy
This review was originally pub lished in RFT sister paper Creative oafing Tampa ay.
asEntertainingHell
acing career suicide and finan
cial ruin remembers that he owns property in etroit which makes you immediately think that this is going to become some hor ror movie about white male privi lege and violent comeuppance when the prodigal asshole returns home.fonly
to describe or even define. ventually Tess and meet cute in the dank subterranean maze that exists beneath the rent al property that owns where years before another man named rank ( ichard rake started col lecting women to be his con ugal incubators wait hold on that’s
giving a little too much away. art of the oy of discovery in Barbarian is not having a clue about the plot of Barbarian prior to the movie starting.
Justin Long plays AJ in Barbarian, a film about what lurks in the basement of an Airbnb. | VIA 20TH CENTURY STUDIOS
nd part of the reason that Barbarian proves so confound ing is that even after watching it you still don’t know a damn thing about the plot.
DirectedBarbarianbyZach Cregger. Starring Georgina Campbell, Justin Long and Bill Skarsgård. Showing widely in St. Louis area theaters.
This is a movie that opens on Tess ( eorgina ampbell as she arrives at her irbnb rental in a terrible neighborhood outside of etroit only to find it occupied by eith ( ill karsg rd . eith acts so weird and awkward that you immediately think this is go ing to be some kind of crazy time share slasher flick like ave ran co’s not scary at all The Rental or randon hristensen’s consider ably more unhinged Superhost. [Editor’s Note: The next passage alludes to sexual assault.] ut then Barbarian pivots un expectedly from the ravaged resi dential ruins of Michigan to the sun kissed beaches of alifornia to suddenly focus on ( ustin ong a schmuck y T director whose career gets MeToo’d. ou know you’re not supposed to feel bad for because he says stupid things like it took some convinc ing when asked if his sexual tryst with the actress accusing him of rape was consensual.
FILM 37
Barbarian is the craziest, goriest, most WTF-iest theatrical release in 2022 so far
riverfronttimes.com SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 RIVERFRONT TIMES 37 [REVIEW]
Written by JOHN W. ALLMAN
ike some bastard abomina tion that escaped from captiv ity ach regger’s first solo venture Barbarian is the cra ziest goriest most what the fuck iest theatrical release thus far in .
What can tell you is that reg ger makes masterful use of light and darkness and he deftly navi gates some cramped confines to generate maximum unease. He writes with a propulsive flair that keeps his movie moving forward with purpose even as you struggle to acclimate to its slippery narra tiveestslope.of all it’s not giving any thing away to share that the de ranged third act of Barbarian in cludes some of the most insane and stomach churning practical effects work in recent memory and for at least the diehard horror fans that right there is enough. or everyone else you’re ust going to have to trust me. Barbarian may not make a lick of sense but it is brutal and entertain ing as hell. n
Air Force 1s with, the Pac-Man logo on Vans and a Spider Manthemed swoosh logo on Nikes. He calls his artwork “happy and free.”“Something that is fresh, it’s modern, but clean as well,” he says. Over the years, Anthony has painted sneakers featured in the viral rap music videos “BOP on Broadway (Hip Hop Musical)” by DaBaby and “Hot Shower” by Chance the Rapper. His work has appeared on Overtime’s Battle of the Shoe Customizers and on Insider, which garnered over 460,000 views.
“I want to be able to reach peo ple in all avenues, in all spaces,” he says, “and be able to spread the message that I have of being your self and loving yourself and using your journey as inspiration.”
He says he’s focused on expand ing his art through new mediums. Now he creates artwork on all kinds of items — sneakers, cleats, T-shirts, bucket hats, furniture and literal canvases. He wants to continue expanding making art work for designer brands, compa nies and campaigns.
His older brother had a solu tion: What if he gave Anthony an old pair of Jordan 1s? The Jordans had cracks and creases in the leather but they could fix up the shoesAnthony’stogether.brother was a sneak erhead, the kind of person who bought every new Jordan and cleaned them with a toothbrush and dishwashing liquid.
Anthony doesn’t follow base ball. But he didn’t hesitate in ac cepting the offer. Actually, he says, he did backflips.
rank Anthony wore Skechers with yellow splotches in middle school. He didn’t care about his shoes or his wardrobe. “I was just happy to be alive, running around, pretending to be a Ninja Turtle and Power Ranger,” Antho ny says with a chuckle.
Now at the age of 26, the East St. Louis native is renowned around the world for his sneaker art. Quite literally, he buys sneakers and paints them. “Wearable art work,” he calls it. He has put Mi chelangelo’s Creation of Adam on
CULTURE
Artwork’‘Wearable
38 RIVERFRONT TIMES SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 riverfronttimes.com [SNEAKER ART]
“It wasn’t really about baseball, if I’m being honest,” he says. “It was about me being a Black male and Jackie Robinson being a Black male — those struggles and the things that he went through.”
But the brothers went a step further with these Jordan 1s. They didn’t just clean them. They re painted them blue and brought them back to life.
He made the cleats in three
sleepless nights nights filled with highlights of Robinson, Ken drick Lamar songs and Stranger Things. He didn’t sketch it out first. He simply drew what came to him: action shots of Robinson stealing bases and his jersey num ber — 42 — which will never be worn by another player.
MLB invited Anthony out to Los Angeles for the All-Star festivi ties. There, he painted the shoes at a booth over three days. They were later auctioned off, with the proceeds going to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
Written by BENJAMIN SIMON
East St. Louis artist Frank Anthony cashes in on sneaker art
Frank Anthony created Jackie Robinson-themed cleats for Major League Baseball. | COURTESY PHOTO
38
“Sneakers,” Anthony says, “will always be the bread and butter.” n
But the bullies at his East St. Louis middle school didn’t think the same way. They teased him and teased him about his Skech ers, and they wouldn’t stop.
“ It was about me being a Black male and Jackie Robinson being a Black male — those struggles and the things that he through.”went
“The idea was just so vivid in my mind that I was able to sketch every thing out after I had ideas,” he says.
Aside from a short stint at Jack son State, Anthony has stayed al most exclusively in ast t. ouis. But since the All-Star event, he’s been in Los Angeles, trying to make inroads in the art commu nity. It is a new world, though he still misses East St. Louis.
This past summer, Anthony was invited to complete possibly his largest art project yet. Major League Baseball hired him to design a pair of cleats commemorating Jackie Robinson. The shoes, showcased during All-Star week, honored the 75th anniversary of Robinson breaking the color barrier.
F
Throughout high school, An thony kept tinkering with sneaker art, trying different designs. He got better and better. The bullying stopped. People started dapping him up for his stylish shoes and asking for their own pairs. “The whole world just turned in the op posite direction,” he says.
But sneaker art, which stopped the bullies and catapulted him to fame — that’s not going anywhere.
“It’s been hard,” he says. “It’s been really hard because the shift of leaving family and friends and having to create a new environ ment and space. It weighs a toll from time to time.”
“We got the sneakers ... to look presentable,” Anthony says. “And after that, I started learning that can also express myself on this.
Jia Lian Yang (second from le ) is director of storytelling and communications. | PAULA GAERTNER
“It’s a matter of life and death,” Yang says. “People do not call 911 for fun. … People call 911 on some of their worst days.”Forward Through Ferguson was found ed as a response to the Ferguson Com mission Report released after the death
riverfronttimes.com SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 RIVERFRONT TIMES 39 [STORYTELLING]
of Michael Brown in 2014. The report list ed 189 calls to action, Yang says, and one of those was improving the 911 system.
To do so, Forward Through Ferguson created the #Transforming911 project, an ongoing exploration of the 911 system. Over the years, it has compiled research, data and stories to better understand the 911 system –– why people call 911, how 911 responds and how it can all change, such as adding non-police civilian first Forwardresponders.ThroughFerguson partnered with AH Datalytics, for example, which looked at over 1.7 million 911 calls made
To fix anything else, Yang says, you have to start with the 911 system. “911 is the front door to the public-safety system,” she says. “Our thought is if we really believe in reimagining public safety, you really can’t do that if you don’t address 911.”
As part of the #Transforming911 project, Forward Through Ferguson planned three community events in Midtown, Dutchtown and Ferguson. The events are designed to share research, inform the public and hear from the community.
On Friday evening, nearly 35 people packed into the Dutchtown Thomas Dunn Learning Center to participate in a community dialogue organized by Forward Through Ferguson in partnership with Humans of St. Louis.
The event stemmed from #Transforming911, an initiative that aimed to reimagine the 911 system, says Yang, the director of storytelling and communications for Forward Through Ferguson. The current system, she says, isn’t working. Dispatchers are overworked and understaffed. Residents wait on hold for 10, 15, 20 minutes in dire situations. Armed police officers respond to nearly every and any event –– regardless of the need.
At Friday’s event, people shared their stories. One lifelong St. Louisan, Patrice Hill, said someone recently stole her mother-in-law’s Kia. She phoned the police around 1 p.m. They didn’t arrive until 6 p.m.Another, who identified herself as a worker for a bullet-related injury clinic, said her daughter was shot and killed and bled out in the street because the ambulance didn’t arrive in time.
“Being able to hear from community residents, what they want in terms of our public safety system, what they want from our 911 system and the questions that they have about the 911 system, is re ally important,” she says. The goal, Yang adds, is to “give them a sense that, within community, we can move forward.”
“One sound that expresses how you feel, on the count of three,” Yang said. “1-2-3.”Everyone in the room, as one, let out a sigh. A groan. They had come to talk about the 911 system in St. Louis. And that solicited a groan.
St. Louis residents share experiences with the emergency response system at Forward rough #Transforming911Ferguson’s
“I love the City of St. Louis,” she said. “I love our citizens. I love the struggles because I want to help people.”
efore talking about St. Louis’ 911 system, Jia Lian Yang took a temperature check of the crowd.
Moorehead talked about her experi ence on the other side of the call –– how dispatchers prioritize incidents and how the job is structured. She said their goal isn’t to make people wait for extended periods of time. The dispatchers are just severely understaffed. Moorehead, for ex ample, occasionally works 16-hour shifts.
Written by BENJAMIN SIMON
On Friday, attendees explored a Hu-
“What we know from St. Louisans’ 911 stories is that our 911 system is not pro viding the level of safety and security that St. Louisans deserve,” Yang tells the RFT
“We are making space for community residents to connect with each other,” she says. “You see the sense of relief from people, that they’re able to find other community residents who share their same values, who share their same questions, who are willing to figure out a path forward together.” n
Life and Death
B
“Think about it,” she said, “there’s only two call-takers at times.” The crowd gasped.ButYang wouldn’t classify the night as negative. There were a few teary eyes and a few collective deep-breath exercises. It’s a serious subject matter, she says. But she felt like it was a positive evening. One where people listened to each other, learned from each other and tried to find some solutions together.
to the St. Louis County police between 2015 and 2020. They found that people call “mostly for service and medical reasons,” Yang says. “It really debunks the myth that when people call 911, it’s for this very scary, violent situation that requires use of force.”
Community members shared their experiences calling 911 at last week’s event from Forward rough Ferguson. | JIA LIAN YANG
mans of St. Louis exhibit focused on 911, watched a presentation, and broke out into small group discussions. They also listened to a Q&A with a dispatcher to learn more about the various sides of the 911 Wearingsystem.ablue police dispatcher’s shirt, Erricka Moorehead identified herself as a mother of two, a lifelong St. Louisan and a dispatcher for the city for six years.
40 RIVERFRONT TIMES SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 riverfronttimes.com 40TH ANNIVERSARYTOUR CHRISTOPHERCROSSFri,Sept16TROMBONESHORTY&ORLEANSAVENUEThurs,Sept22JUDAH&THELION PLUS SMALLPOOLS Fri, Sept 23 KSHE KLASSIC CAR SHOW & CONCERT FEAT. JACKYL & PEARCYSTEPHENOFRATTSUN,SEPT25WHEELERWALKER,JR.SAT,OCT1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLING AUTHOR RACHELHOLLIS RACH TALK LIVE! Sat, Oct KILLER8QUEEN A TRIBUTE TO QUEEN FEAT. PATRICK MYERS AS FREDDIE MERCURY Wed, Oct 12 105.7 THE POINT PRESENTS: ASPHALT MEADOWS TOUR DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE PLUS LOW THURS, OCT 13 MON,ADAMSRYANOCT17 THE THRIVE TOUR THURS,SLANDEROCT20 WEDNESDAY, 9/14/22 COLT BALL 4:30PM FREE SHOW! SEAN CANAN’S VOODOO PLAYERS PRESENTS: VOODOO DAVE MATTHEWS BAND! 9PM THURSDAY, 9/15/22 PICKIN BUDS 4PM FREE SHOW! FROM NOLA! - *JOHN PAPA GROS* 9PM FRIDAY, 9/16/22 KEVIN BUCKLEY 4PM FREE SHOW! FROM NOLA! - *FLOW TRIBE* 10PM SATURDAY, 9/17/22 ALL ROOSTERED UP 12PM FREE SHOW! FUNKY BUTT BRASS BAND 10PM SUNDAY, 9/18/22 TBA 2PM FREE SHOW! BROKEN JUKEBOX 9PM FREE SHOW! MONDAY, 9/19/22 ANDY SYDOW 5PM FREE SHOW! SOULARD BLUES BAND 9PM TUESDAY, 9/20/22 STEVE REEB 4PM FREE SHOW! ERIC LYSAGHT 9PM ORDER ONLINE FOR CURBSIDE PICKUP! MONDAY-SATURDAY 11AM-9:30PM SUNDAY 11AM-8:30PM HAPPYSPECIALSHOUR MONDAY-FRIDAY 11AM-4PM
And within the last year, his following has continued to rise. He has produced multiple songs that have reached 30,000, 40,000 and 50,000 views on YouTube. He no longer records from a closet but, rather, spends multiple days of the week in St. Louis studios, where he aims to record four songs in two hours. Sometimes he writes songs and sometimes he freestyles them, though he would like to write more.
He’s thinking maybe San Fran cisco, New York or Las Vegas. This month, he’ll be gone from St. Lou is, traveling to record a feature in Kansas City before attending meetings in New York, Las Vegas and Los Angeles –– shooting vid eos in each location.
Twoos, better known as rapper Karma2zz, isn’t being rude. He is thoughtful and reflective in his answers. He ust seems fidgety and maybe even a little nervous. He is 20 years old after all, a kid trying to make sense of his new found local fame. The music, the attention –– it is all so new, and it happened so fast. He recorded his first studio song ust last year but already, he has skyrocketed to 1 million streams on Apple Music.
The easiest way to blow up in St. Louis is to make a diss song, Twoos says. But Twoos doesn’t make diss songs. Rather, he crafts his music to focus on the sound and the wordplay (“I used to love my [English Language Arts] classes,” he says). He doesn’t want people to get in the car and shut off his music because he’s dissing someone.“They’ll get the car and be like, ‘Turn it off,’” he says. “Now that person won’t play that song around them anymore. You know, just bad for business.”
To his surprise, once again, the album, Pressplay, published July 4, 2021, went St. Louis viral. “It straight took me getting out to see what this could do,” he says.
He bounced around from ZIP code to ZIP code across the St.
Then, in 2020, after graduating from high school, he found music. He was just “playing around with it,” he says. “I ain’t see a future in it.”
She points to a recent brunch trip when a few fans crowded behind him, whispering. It was Karma2zz and they wanted a pic ture. “[Twoos] was about as excited as them,” she says. “Like, he wanted to take a picture with them.”
Growing up in St. Louis, Twoos didn’t plan to become a rapper. His mom worked at banks and his dad was a truck driver. Twoos wanted to be a firefighter. He ran track in high school and wanted to attend Ranken Technical College, but he didn’t get his FAFSA set up correctly. s he figured out the next steps, he worked at a pizza shop and Jack in the Box.
He recorded his first songs in a closet with Apple headphones ––the only quiet place in the house where the dog wouldn’t disturb him. He would make short 30-sec ond previews, posting some of them on the music app Triller.
To the Top
“I plan on moving,” he says. “This is my last year in my home town. I can’t fake it.”
Louis area. He was always the new kid, he says, before he settled down in the Ville as a teenager.
“I feel like I got a voice but only in my city,” he says. “I wanna have a voice all around the world.” n
41
He grabs rocks from the ground and fiddles with them between his fingers. He pulls at his baby-blue ripped jeans, taps his cellphone and re sponds to texts. His eyes hide be hind his bangs, darting left, right, anywhere but the interviewer.
Written by BENJAMIN SIMON
Shortly after he released “Chica go” in March 2021, Twoos traveled to Miami for his friend’s birthday. He booked studio time for the first time and recorded an album.
But Twoos hasn’t made it out of St. Louis just yet. He’s on the brink of fading into the St. Louis rap scene or leveraging his local buzz to break into the mainstream. Twoos knows this. He has a check list to achieve, he says, before he can call himself famous: an Insta gram blue check, 100,000 follow ers, sponsorships and to “be able to have that voice.”
riverfronttimes.com SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 RIVERFRONT TIMES 41
“It’s crazy,” Twoos says. “I straight wouldn’t even think that I wouldn’t need a job because of rap.”This is what stands out to his manager, Dony’a Blackson, who started working with Twoos just over a month ago. “Humbleness,” she says. “He’s humble, quiet and he doesn’t really know his full worth yet.”
Twoos calls his music “ener
“I was scared to put it out be cause I know I don’t sound like other rappers that’s around,” he says. “So I was like, ‘Dang, people are not gonna like it because it sounds different,’ but it was the complete opposite.”
From that closet, Twoos re leased a song called “Chicago.” And the song sounds like it came from a closet. His voice is far away, echoey and fuzzy. He made a Triller video with the song, and to his surprise, it blew up.
find the beat first then let the beat guide what ’m finna talk about because the beat’s gonna tell me how I’m feeling,” he says.
arma Twoos can’t sit still during the interview.
MUSIC
Karma2zz is bringing a party vibe to larger and larger crowds. | VIA THE ARTIST
With more than a million streams, St. Louis rapper Karma2zz has blown up — but he didn’t plan it
“I know I don’t sound like other rappers that’s around. So I was like, ‘Dang, people are not gonna like it because it sounds different,’ but it was the opposite.”complete
K
getic.” A “party vibe.” A vibe that “makes you want to turn up all the time.” He raps over blazing fast beats that take off and never slow down. And he keeps up with them, matching high hat after high hat, threading words together at a breathless speed. No chorus, no autotune. Just bar after bar after bar until the beat shuts off.
Back then Twoos was a “hot head” — until a life-altering expe rience. During Twoos’ junior year of high school, his best friend died. “We were evil together,” he says. “When he died, it kind of shocked me, like, ‘Damn, we ain’t bullet proof.’ We out here acting crazy. And when he died, it was like, ‘Damn, that could have been me.’”
Twoos still lives in St. Louis, but he doesn’t intend to stay. He finds inspiration from Chicago rappers and dreams of making crowds faint like Michael Jackson did.
42
MELT: 7:30 p.m., $18. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.
Happy showgoing!
BLUE OYSTER CULT: w/ Mark Farner’s American Band, Head East 7 p.m., $53-$93. Family Arena, 2002 Arena Parkway, St Charles, 636-896-4200.
THE IAN MOORE: w/ B. Pags, Guilty Pleasures 8 p.m., $12. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.
DENZEL CURRY: w/ AG Club, redveil, Playthatboizay 8 p.m., $35. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.
MISS JUBILEE: 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090.
PYROMANIA: 2 p.m., $30-$150. Cedar Lake Cellars, 11008 Schreckengast Road, Wright City, 636-745-9500.
SISSER: w/ North by North, Middle Class Fashion 8 p.m., $10. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226.
GANG OF YOUTHS: 8 p.m., $25/$30. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.
AMERICAN AQUARIUM: w/ Mike McClure 8 p.m., $20/$25. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.
AUSTIN MEADE: 8 p.m., $17. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.
TUESDAY 20
MISSISSIPPI EARTHTONES FESTIVAL: noon, free.
ach week, we bring you our picks for the best concerts of the next seven days! To submit your show for consideration, visit https:// bit.ly/3bgnwXZ. All events are subject to change, especially in the age of COVID-19, so do check with the venue for the most up-to-date information before you head out for the night. And of course, be sure that you are aware of the venues’ COVID-safety requirements, as those vary from place to place and you don’t want to get stuck outside because you forgot your mask or proof of vaccination.
JAVIER MENDOZA: 8 p.m., $30. The Chapel, 6238 Alexander Dr, Clayton.
SMOOTH JAZZ CRUISE ON LAND DAY 1: w/ Boney James. Peter White & Vincent Ingala, Eric Marienthal & Friends 6:30 p.m., $69.50-$93.50. The actory N uter d hesterfield 314-423-8500.
ARIANNA STRING QUARTET: 7:30 p.m., $10-$29. Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center, 1 Touhill Circle, St. Louis, 866-516-4949.
SHEPHERD AND MCDONOUGH: 7 p.m., $20. National Blues Museum, 615 Washington Ave., St.
AS THE CROW FLIES: 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090.
$UICIDEBOY$: w/ Ski Mask the Slump God, $not, Knocked Loose, Code Orange, Maxo Kream, DJ Scheme 6 p.m., $35-$185.50. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944.
THE AMITY AFFLICTION: w/ Silverstein, Holding Absence, Unity TX 7 p.m., $29.50-$59.50. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.
THE BROKEN HIPSTERS: 7 p.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521.
THE JUNCTION: HILLS: w/ Kizzle Mobbin’ & His Live Band 8 p.m., $15. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.
THE NATIONAL: 8 p.m., $39.50-$205. St. Louis Music Park, 750 Casino Center Dr., Maryland Heights, 314-451-2244.
Legendary New York hardcore group Murphy’s Law has been playing punk rock party anthems for more than 30 years. The group is led by singer and sole remaining founding member Jimmy Gestapo, who has played with a staggering list of backing musicians since the band’s inception — literally more than 70 names. In this way, Murphy’s Law can be seen as the unlikely link between acts such as the Misfits, the Slackers, Thursday, the New York Dolls and about a billion more whose musicians have lent a helping hand over the years. Murphy’s Law’s
PAUL THORN: 8 p.m., $25-$35. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.
THE JULIANA THEORY: 8 p.m., $35. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.
OUT EVERY NIGHT
17
KASH’D OUT: 7 p.m., $15. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.
COMEDY SHIPWRECK: 9 p.m., free. The Heavy An chor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226.
MONDAY 19
KEVIN BUCKLEY: 10 a.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521.
Murphy’s Law w/ Tiger Sex, Antithought, Orangetree
P.R.E.A.C.H. & LOERKACE: 7:30 p.m., $10. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720.
LIZZIE WEBER SINGLE RELEASE: w/ Cara Louise, Yannon 8 p.m., $15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.
DUDLEY TAFT: 7:30 p.m., $15. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.
BOWLING FOR SOUP: w/ Less Than Jake 8 p.m., $32.50/$37.50. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.
WHIT.: 8 p.m., $10. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.SUNDAY18
MICHELLE WOLF: 7 p.m., $30-$40. Helium Comedy Club, 1151 St. Louis Galleria Saint Louis Galleria Mall, Richmond Heights, 314-727-1260.
THE KILLERS: w/ Johnny Marr 7 p.m., $34.25$134.25. Chaifetz Arena, 1 S. Compton Ave., St. Louis, 314-977-5000.
live show is always a non-stop party, with huge sing-a-longs, impromptu songs written on the spot about audience members and Jaegermeister that flows like water — mostly into Gestapo’s face. While it’s been more than 20 years since the group released a proper studio album, Gestapo and Co. have consistently kept busy by bringing their raucous, over-the-top performances to grateful fans all over the world, solidifying the band’s status as hardcore royalty in the process. Partners in Party: Opening the show are Detroit garage rockers Tiger Sex and locals Antithought and Orangetree. Tempting as it may be for a Murphy’s Law show, don’t spend your time pre-gaming in your car — the party is already inside.
VALENCIA RUSH: 8 p.m., $20-$65. The Golden Record, 2720 Cherokee Street, St. Louis, N/A.
SATURDAYLouis.
ANNA VAUS: w/ Lucie Switalski 8 p.m., $10-$15. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.
THURSDAY 15
MAXIMUM EFFORT: w/ Powerline Sneakers, Sole Loan 8 p.m., $10. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309.
8 p.m. Friday, September 16. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street. $17. 314-289-9050.
LEFTOVER SALMON: w ne Way Traffic p.m. $27.50. The Ready Room, 4140 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929.
AL HOLLIDAY: 8 p.m., $15-$20. Joe’s Cafe, 6014 Kingsbury Ave, St. Louis.
TRINITY OF TERROR TOUR: w/ Motionless In White, Black Veil Brides, Ice Nine Kills, Crown the Em pire 6:30 p.m., $46.50-$56.50. Family Arena, 2002 Arena Parkway, St Charles, 636-896-4200.
—Daniel Hill
OVERBORED UNDERPAID: 8 p.m., $12. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.
DREW SHEAFOR AND THE SOUL RANGERS: 7 p.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521.
POST MALONE: 8 p.m., $36.50-$226.50. Enterprise Center, 1401 Clark Ave., St. Louis, 314-241-1888.
FLASHER: w/ Trauma Harness 8 p.m., $12-$15.
42 RIVERFRONT TIMES SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 riverfronttimes.com
MURPHY’S LAW: 8 p.m., $17. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.
BUILT TO SPILL: 8 p.m., $30. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.
E
[CRITIC’S PICK]
THE WATERLOO GERMAN BAND: 7 p.m., free. Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site, 7400 Grant Road, Concord, 314-842-3298.
SUBTROPOLIS: w/ Moon Goons, Boreal Hills 8 p.m., $10. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309.
SMOOTH JAZZ CRUISE ON LAND DAY 2: w/ Jona thon Butler, R ‘N R, Eric Darius with Rebecca Jade 6:30 p.m., $69.50-$93.50. The Factory, N uter d hesterfield .
THE FORESTWOOD BOYS: 7 p.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521.
PEARL JAM: 7:30 p.m., $103+. Enterprise Center, 1401 Clark Ave., St. Louis, 314-241-1888.
BLACK KNIFE: w Traffic eath lackwell p.m., $10. The Ready Room, 4140 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929.
JIMMY EAT WORLD: w/ Charly Bliss 8 p.m., $40$55. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.
TESTAMENT: w/ Exodus, Death Angel 6:50 p.m., $30/$35. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.
FRIDAY 16
CARSON MANN & CREE RIDER: 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090.
STEVE CORBITT AND KEITH HADDRILL: 7 p.m., $10. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.
JOCELYN & CHRIS: 7:30 p.m., $20. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.
CONNOR SCHENK: 6:30 p.m., $10. The Attic Music ar . ingshighway nd floor St. Louis, 314-376-5313.
BOKYUNG BYUN: 7:30 p.m., $20-$39. The 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity Ave., University City, 314-421-3600.
RENEE SMITH: 7 p.m., $20. National Blues Museum, 615 Washington Ave., St. Louis.
Murphy’s Law. | MSABBATH
DEMON HUNTER: 8 p.m., $35. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720.
CHRISTOPHER CROSS: 8 p.m., $49.50-$69.50. The actory N uter d hesterfield 314-423-8500.
SPACEFACE: 7:30 p.m., $12-$15. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309.
MARY GAUTHIER: w/ Jaimee Harris 8 p.m., $25$30. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.
Liberty Bank Ampitheater, 1 Riverfront Drive, Alton Township.
ANDY FRASCO & THE U.N.: Sat., Nov. 19, 8 p.m., $22.50. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.
CARSON MANN AND CREE RIDER: Thu., Oct. 13, 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090.
JON BONHAM AND FRIENDS: Fri., Oct. 7, 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090.
2, 7 p.m., $20. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.
KASH’D OUT: Sun., Sept. 18, 7 p.m., $15. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.
THE KILLERS: Wed., March 22, 8 p.m., $34.25$134.25. Chaifetz Arena, 1 S. Compton Ave., St. Louis, 314-977-5000.
theatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944.
DREW SHEAFOR AND THE SOUL RANGERS: Thu., Oct. 6, 7 p.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521. FOXING: W/ the Mall, Shinra Knives, Thor Axe, Fri., Dec. 2, 7 p.m., $20. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.
THIS JUST IN $UICIDEBOY$: W/ Ski Mask the Slump God, $not, Knocked Loose, Code Orange, Maxo Kream, DJ Scheme, Sat., Sept. 17, 6 p.m., $35$185.50. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944.
video where everyone in attendance has a face tat — or is in the process of getting one. Curry appears as a clown ish alter ego that is presented as a star attraction, only to tease suicide and ulti mately pay off the promise made when first invoking the name of Kurt Cobain. The music video is still Curry’s mostplayed to date, despite the subsequent release of several singles and full-length albums that deserve just as much, if not more, critical acclaim. The 2022 record Melt My Eyez See Your Future pulls off the many masks Curry wears in order to deliver the stark characterizations heard throughout his body of work. The result is a bare rejuvenation of Curry’s distinct style that works in flexible tan dem with the myriad guest appearanc es, which include T-Pain, Thundercat and Slowthai, to name a few.
The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309.
PATRICK SWEANY: 8 p.m., $20. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.
COMEDY SHIPWRECK: Mon., Sept. 19, 9 p.m., free. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226.
HONORING THE QUEEN OF THE BLUES: KOKO TAYLOR: W/ Mz. Sha and the Ka’ShA Band, Fri., Nov. 4, 7 p.m., $20. National Blues Museum, 615 Washington Ave., St. Louis.
MISS JUBILEE: Fri., Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090.
JEREMIAH JOHNSON: Sat., Oct. 1, 7 p.m., $20. National Blues Museum, 615 Washington Ave., St. Louis.
HOWL AT THE MOON HALLOWEEN PARTY AND HIP-HOP SHOW: Sat., Oct. 22, 8 p.m., $10. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720.
ALICE IN CHAINS: w/ Breaking Benjamin, Bush 6 p.m., $25-$99.50. Hollywood Casino Amphi-
JOHN MCDANIEL: Thu., Oct. 20, 7:30 p.m., $20. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.
RENAISSANCE BAND: Fri., Oct. 21, 7 p.m., $20. National Blues Museum, 615 Washington Ave.,
Friends Forever: Curry’s Melt My Eyez Tour features a solid lineup of opening acts with frequent collaborator and fellow Floridian PlayThatBoiZay leading the pack. His 2019 project NOCTURNAL flew under the radar on release, but it’s a solid starting point for those getting into trap metal. —Joseph Hess
TOGETHER PANGEA: w/ the Cavves 8 p.m., $15$18. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.
BLANCO BROWN: Thu., Oct. 20, 7:30 p.m., $25$59.50. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720.
MELVINS: 8 p.m., $26. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.
LUMET: Fri., Oct. 14, 8 p.m., $12. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.
MUSCADINE BLOODLINE: W/ Ben Chapman, Fri., Nov. 18, 8 p.m., $20. The Hawthorn, 2225 Washington Avenue, St. Louis.
MACHINE HEAD: Mon., Nov. 21, 8 p.m., $28$49.50. Red Flag, 3040 Locust Street, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.
A JOURNEY OF VOICES: Sun., Oct. 9, 7 p.m., $10$52. Webster University Community Music School, 535 Garden Ave., Webster Groves, 314-968-5939.
AMERICAN CHAMBER CHORALE & ORCHESTRA CONCERT: Sat., Oct. 8, 7:30 p.m., free. Salem in Ladue United Methodist Church, 1200 S. Lindbergh Blvd., Frontenac, 314-991-0546.
A KAT EDMONSON CHRISTMAS: Wed., Dec. 7, 7:30 p.m., $25. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.
HITCHCOCK AND THE HITMEN: Fri., Oct. 21, 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090.
KELTIC REIGN: Sat., Oct. 1, 7:30 p.m., $15. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.
LOLA KRISTINE: Fri., Dec. 23, 7:30 p.m., $20. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.
LUCERO: W/ L.A. Edwards, Sat., Oct. 29, 7 p.m., $30. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.
8 p.m. Tuesday, September 20. e Pageant, 6161 Delmar Boulevard. $35 to $40. 314-726-6161.
CHRISTMAS CANDLELIGHT CONCERT: Fri., Dec. 9, 7:30 p.m., $30-$85. Powell Hall, 718 N. Grand Blvd, St. Louis, 314-534-1700.
riverfronttimes.com SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 RIVERFRONT TIMES 43
WEDNESDAY 21
PEARL JAM: Sun., Sept. 18, 7:30 p.m., $103+. Enterprise Center, 1401 Clark Ave., St. Louis, 314-241-1888.
BLUE OYSTER CULT: W/ Mark Farner’s American Band, Head East, Fri., Sept. 16, 7 p.m., $53-$93. Family Arena, 2002 Arena Parkway, St Charles, 636-896-4200.
Continued on pg 44
OKTOBERFEST BEER CHOIR: Tue., Nov. 22, 7 p.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521.
BEN JONES: Sat., Nov. 19, 6:30 p.m., $20. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.
THE DARRELLS: Fri., Oct. 7, 7 p.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521.
[CRITIC’S PICK]
Denzel Curry. | VILLAGOMEZ
JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR: Sat., April 15, 8 p.m., $29-$99. The Factory, 17105 N Outer 40 Rd, hesterfield .
R&B KINGS: W/ Jagged Edge, Dru Hill, Ginuwine, Sun., Nov. 27, 6 p.m., $79-$169. Stifel Theatre, 1400 Market St, St. Louis, 314-499-7600.
CHAMPIAN FULTON: Fri., Nov. 18, 7:30 p.m., $20. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.
PROTOMARTYR: Wed., Nov. 2, 8 p.m., $20. Off Broad way, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.
JOE PARK AND THE HOT CLUB OF ST. LOUIS: Sat., Oct. 1, 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090.
MOON VALLEY: Sat., Oct. 22, 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090.
JAVIER MENDOZA: Sat., Sept. 17, 8 p.m., $30. The Chapel, 6238 Alexander Dr, Clayton. Sun., Oct.
From his time in the Boys & Girls Clubs of America where he challenged other kids to rap battles to working on debut album Nostalgic 64 while still in high school, Denzel Curry started building his massive fan base at an early age. The South Florida rapper was notably part of XXL’s Freshman Class in 2016, a breakthrough year for the hip-hop pub lication that also featured Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Yachty, Kodak Black, G Herbo, Dave East, Lil Dicky, Anderson Paak, Desiign er and 21 Savage — and it’s still consid ered the best “freshman cypher” in the magazine’s history by a wide margin. You might not remember “Ultimate” by name, but chances are you’ve heard the track in at least one viral video. Curry already had a built-in audience when, in summer 2018, he dropped “CLOUT COBAIN | CLOUT CO13A1N,” an aggres sively cool track with an accompanying
NAKATANI GONG ORCHESTRA: Sat., Oct. 1, 7 p.m., $10. Gethsemane Lutheran Church, 3600 Hampton Avenue, St Louis, (314) 352-8050.
MS. HY-C AND HER FRESH START BAND: Sat., Oct. 15, 7 p.m., $20. National Blues Museum, 615 Washington Ave., St. Louis.
ZACH DEPUTY: 8 p.m., TBA. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.
REMEMBERING STAX RECORDS: W/ Roland Johnson, Sat., Nov. 5, 7 p.m., $20. National Blues Museum, 615 Washington Ave., St. Louis.
DEMON HUNTER: Thu., Sept. 15, 8 p.m., $35. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720.
BREATHE CAROLINA: Fri., Oct. 28, 10 p.m., $15$400. RYSE Nightclub, One Ameristar Blvd, St. Charles.
JAZZ FESTIVAL: RETURNS, REVISIONS, INVENTIONS: Fri., Sept. 30, 5 p.m., free. Washington Universi ty-Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, 1 Brook ings Drive, University City, 314-935-4523.
GOV’T MULE: 8 p.m., $35-$45. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.
HÉCTOR ANCHONDO: Fri., Oct. 28, 7 p.m., $20. National Blues Museum, 615 Washington Ave., St. Louis.
Denzel Curry w/ AG Club, redveil, Play atBoiZay
ALICE IN CHAINS: W/ Breaking Benjamin, Bush, Wed., Sept. 21, 6 p.m., $25-$99.50. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944.
NEIL SALSICH AND FRIENDS: Thu., Oct. 20, 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090.
THE GASLIGHT SQUARES: Sat., Oct. 8, 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090.
THE DEAL: Sun., Oct. 9, noon, free. Das Bevo Bier garten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521.
THE GOLDENRODS: Thu., Oct. 27, 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090.
ARIANNA STRING QUARTET: Fri., Sept. 16, 7:30 p.m., $10-$29. Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center, 1 Touhill Circle, St. Louis, 866-516-4949.
SMOKING POPES: W/ Off With Their Heads, Limbeck, The Color Fred, Thu., Nov. 10, 8 p.m., $22. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.
THE WOOD BROTHERS: Wed., Nov. 2, 8 p.m., $30. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.
—Joseph Hess
WITCHING HOUR BLUES: TRIBUTE TO JIMI HENDRIX: W/ Matt Roland, Sat., Oct. 29, 7 p.m., $20. National Blues Museum, 615 Washington Ave., St. Louis.
8 p.m. Tuesday, September 20. e Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway. $12 to $15. 314-328-2309.
Flasher. | VIA ARTIST BANDCAMP
SHEPHERD AND MCDONOUGH: Fri., Sept. 16, 7 p.m., $20. National Blues Museum, 615 Washington Ave., St. Louis.
VOODOO BLUES BROTHERS: Wed., Oct. 19, 9 p.m., $12. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.
ROBERT NELSON: Fri., Sept. 23, 7 p.m., $20. Sat., Sept. 24, 7 p.m., $20. National Blues Museum, 615 Washington Ave., St. Louis.
Flasher is made up of Washington, D.C., musicians who cut their teeth early on in different punk bands (such as Priests), so its approach to alternative rock is selectively unhinged albeit anchored in solid songcraft. The band’s first EP dropped in 2016 with a burst of staticsoaked glee, offering a super-charged set of fuzz-laden singles that stood out among the pack of similar acts debuting around the same time. Flasher released its debut album Constant Image in 2018, which was an evolution of structure with
STEVE CORBITT AND KEITH HADDRILL: Mon., Sept. 19, 7 p.m., $10. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. STEVEN PAGE: Tue., Nov. 15, 8 p.m., $30-$50. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.
[CRITIC’S PICK]
VOODOO YACHT ROCK: Wed., Sept. 28, 9 p.m., $12. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.
44 RIVERFRONT TIMES SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 riverfronttimes.com
ZAK FARMER: Thu., Nov. 10, 6:30 p.m., $20. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745. n
RYAN CHENEY: Sat., Oct. 15, 8 p.m., $15. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.
SWEETIE AND THE TOOTHACHES: Fri., Oct. 28, 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090.
VOODOO LADIES NIGHT: Wed., Oct. 12, 9 p.m., $12. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.
Continued from pg 43
Flasher w/ Crisis Walk-Ins, Pealds, Trauma Harness
THE WATERLOO GERMAN BAND: Thu., Sept. 15, 7 p.m., free. Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site, 7400 Grant Road, Concord, 314-842-3298.
RENEE SMITH: Sat., Sept. 17, 7 p.m., $20. National Blues Museum, 615 Washington Ave., St. Louis.
STEPHANIE STEWART AND FRIENDS: Thu., Oct. 6, 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090.
VALENCIA RUSH: Sat., Sept. 17, 8 p.m., $20-$65. The Golden Record, 2720 Cherokee Street, St. Louis.
St. Louis.
ROGER SCHMELZER: Sat., Dec. 3, 6:30 p.m., $20. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.
THIS JUST IN
YOUR FAVORITE JUKEBOX: Sat., Oct. 8, 7 p.m., $20. National Blues Museum, 615 Washington Ave., St. Louis.
On the Road Again: St. Louis ex-pat Shawn Durham (Posture, the Yeasties) will perform as part of Flasher on this tour, playing both drums and guitar in the band as members trade instruments back and forth throughout the set.
STEVE AOKI: Fri., Oct. 14, 10 p.m., $35-$900. RYSE Nightclub, One Ameristar Blvd, St. Charles.
THE WILHELMS: Sat., Oct. 29, 7:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090.
STL ORIGINALS FESTIVAL: Sun., Oct. 2, 4 p.m., free. Ritz Park, 3147 S. Grand Blvd, St. Louis. SUSAN WERNER: Fri., Oct. 28, 7:30 p.m., $25. Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge, 364 N Boyle Ave, St. Louis, 314-256-1745.
a marked progression in terms of production and melodic interplay. Most bands saw some kind of down period in the last two years, and Flasher is no different. But founding members Taylor Mulitz and Emma Baker had to effectively transform the group following the departure of original bassist Daniel Saperstein. The recently released full-length album Love Is Yours shows the fruit of their labor with a matured approach to songwriting that is explored with textural mastery across its 13 tracks.
VOODOO PHISH: Wed., Oct. 5, 9 p.m., $12. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.
VANESSA COLLIER: Sat., Oct. 22, 7 p.m., $20. National Blues Museum, 615 Washington Ave., St. Louis.
He was apparently willing to overlook your snooping, SMELL TEST, seeing as you’re still to gether. And you were apparently willing to overlook the mountain of incriminating evidence you found on his phone. While you honored his “no contact with exes” rule from the start, he was swapping texts, sexts and photos with his exes the whole time, lurk ing on dating apps and maintain ing multiple Instagram accounts. You concluded he hadn’t cheated on you — he just broke his own stupid rule — but in my experi ence, SMELLTEST, “rules for thee, not for me” types are rarely very good at honoring monogamous commitments over the long term. I’m not saying he’s cheated on you already, but if not getting cheated on ever is important to you … he might not be the guy.
Checkquestions@savagelove.netouttheSavageLovecast@FakeDanSavageonTwitter
I haven’t had a chance to snoop through Harry Styles’ phone, so I can’t definitively say that no straight guy has ever sent another straight guy his dick pics.
among straight guys, particularly straight guys in their 40s.
bi. he no contact with exes rule was his idea, not mine, and I think this guy counts as an ex and should remain bloc ed. o you agree Straight Men Exchanging Long Lusty Texts Exuding Sexual Tension
I don’t care if my boyfriend [is] bisexual but don t want to be lied to. And really don t want to be the cra y girlfriend but my boyfriend had framed photos of this particu lar guy in his house that made him remove. also as ed him to cut off all contact with this man. his is all fresh in my mind because we ran into this guy the other night. hey ept telling each other how good they both loo ed and my was visibly nervous the whole time. s my boyfriend telling me the truth o straight guys who don t have any sexual interest in their friends send them dic pics My is in his mid-40s. e nows m
My hunch is that your guy had and enjoyed a few MMF three somes with this guy before you met, and it was in that context — with a woman in the room to het erosexualize any incidental ho mosexual contact — that he came to appreciate his friend’s cock. Seeing as you dug through his phone long enough to find all the dating apps he’s on, all the mes sages he’d been swapping with ex-girlfriends, and all those fake Instagram accounts, SMELLTEST, if he was bisexual you probably would’ve found messages he’d sent to other men and his Grindr, cruff and niffies accounts too.
Your boyfriend made the rule — no contact with exes (not even eye contact on the subway?) — but at some point, after the lying and gaslighting, you became the en forcer: digging through his phone, ordering him to block his exes, take down framed photos, etc.
At the time I checked his phone, I also found strange messages to one of his male friends. My sent this guy nudes and videos of him having sex with other women. (This was before we met.) here were also messages detailing how much they admired and missed each other’s cocks, and my boyfriend said he wanted to fuck other women with his friend. When I asked him about his relationship with this man he said that they are just good friends, and that this kind of sexting was “something straight guys do.” I don’t think any of my past straight boyfriends ever tal ed about miss ing other guys’ cocks, but this is the first boyfriend whose phone ever checked for shenanigans. Is this something straight guys do?
Finally, SMELLTEST, what the two of you are doing — this guy with his no-contact rules about exes and his lies, you with your snooping and demands to take down photos — sounds so ex hausting. Is this a relationship or a police state? If he can manage to remain monogamous and gets a charge out of swapping dick pics with an old friend, what harm is there in that? Why not let him have that? And if the guy was hot … why not let both of them have you?P.S.
I hope those videos your BF sent his friend of him having sex with other women were taken with the consent of those other women and that he had their per mission to share those videos with his friend.
If this friend is the only guy your boyfriend has ever messed around with, SMELLTEST, if that one guy’s cock is the only cock he’s ever wanted to push past his tonsils, your boyfriend is free to round himself down to straight.
Hey Dan: I’m monogamous and have been dating my boyfriend who identifies as straight for a little over a year. e told me that he had a strict no contact with exes poli cy when we first met. ue to some s etchy behavior lies and gaslight ing on his part — regarding con tacts with his ex-girlfriends open dating profiles and multiple private Instagram accounts — I checked his phone, and my suspicions were con firmed. e didn t cheat but there were some inappropriate messages that he apologi ed for. e bloc ed all his exes and is on the straight and narrow now.
Go to savage.love to read the rest. n
45
JOE NEWTON
I also don’t think having messed around with this one dude makes them “exes” in the romantic/dat ing sense of the term, and I think you should let your boyfriend put his picture back up.
SAVAGE LOVE
Hey Dan: Most of your readers starts with specifying their sexual orientation, age, and sex. Some of this information …
Police States
riverfronttimes.com SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 RIVERFRONT TIMES 45
BY DAN SAVAGE
There is more to this week’s Sav age Love. To read the entire col umn, go to savage.love.
As for his claim that swapping dick pics and compliments are things straight guys do … I haven’t had a chance to snoop through Harry Styles’ phone, M T T so can’t definitively say that no straight guy has ever sent another straight guy his dick pics (or spat on another straight guy at a film premiere . nd seeing as lots of straight men enjoy play ing “gay chicken” these days (and posting the videos to TikTok), it stands to reason that some straight guys may be swapping dick pics and ironic messages about how badly they want each other’s cocks for the lols. But I don’t think that kind of behavior is common
46 RIVERFRONT TIMES SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 riverfronttimes.com
riverfronttimes.com SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2022 RIVERFRONT TIMES 47
